gen: LOCK 2
by Jinova108
Summary: What if there were more gen:LOCK candidates than just the current cast? See how they handle being compatible with the gen:LOCK program and see how they fare in the war against the Union!
1. Chapter 1

Gen: LOCK 2

Chapter 1

A Razor flew across white mountains and green forests. It appeared to be heading towards the Anvil, the Vanguard's base of operations in North America. The passengers were quite excited, since they didn't really know where they were going.

The passengers themselves were a colorful lot. There was a young man with brown hair and black glasses, looking out the window. He had orange jacket with a plain white shirt. He also had sneakers and khaki pants on. This young man was Oliver Hughes. Beside him was a young woman. She had clear white hair with one pink streak in her ponytail. She was wearing a white dress with a pink vest on. Her legs were crossed with her cleats on full display. She was reading a book right now, so she wasn't really paying attention. This woman was Charlotte Graham. On Oliver's other side, was a buff man, with a visible scar across his left eye. He was calmly eating an apple, cleaning his lips a bit. He had a black jacket on with a grey tank top. He had some training pants on with some boots on. This was Eero Laine.

On the other side of them, sat two more passengers. One was asleep, but had a katana-like sword on his back. He had his black hair tied up. He was wearing black shirt with a brown jacket over it. His head was drooping to the side, as he was asleep. This man was Hyun-Woo Park. The young woman beside him was dressed very fancily. She had a small hat on her tan chocolate hair, and was wearing some black pants. She was also wearing some silver high heels. This was Eva Guillard.

"Wow…" Oliver said in awe, his British accent coming through. "Now that's a big cairn."

Oliver continued looking out, but Charlotte replied to that.

"You mean a bunch of rocks?" She replied in her Aussie accent.

"Well, yeah." Oliver responded. "But I've never seen them so high up before. I've only seen them from the bottom when riding on carriages."

"Oh, a boy from the ground." Eva chuckled, her French accent coming through. "How cute."

Oliver turned her head back to Eva, sitting back down on his seat.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"Oh, pardon. I didn't mean that as an insult." Eva replied. "I just meant that as an observation."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms. He noticed her rather fancy getup.

"You're dressed to the nights, aren't you?" Oliver asked. "What's the occasion?"

Eva looked confused, by then she realized that Oliver was commenting on her outfit. Adjusting her hat, she sat up a bit.

"Well, this is just my usual attire." Eva admitted. "I have gained a bit of a… shall we say… fame from France."

"We've heard the stories." Eero spoke up, his Finnish accent muffled by his

Oliver, Eva, and Eva quickly turned their attention to Eero, who bit into his apple one more time before continuing.

"You're the infamous Argent Noir, no?" He said. "The Polity must have a good reason for recruiting someone like you."

Eva's eyes hardened at that remark, clearly being offended by it. She had heard things like this before. But since she had revealed her identity because of this arrangement, she hoped to start new with these new people that she was going to be with for a while.

"While I do take offense to that, monsieur." She said. "I don't want that to be the only thing that defines me."

Eero just continued eating his apple. Charlotte closed her book and saw the situation happening.

"Please." She said calmly. "General Laine. Whatever Eva may have done in the past, we're on the same side."

"I'm very aware of that fact, Ms. Graham." Eero replied, finishing his apple.

When Eero was done with his apple, he sat up and smiled. It was a very proud and sincere smile, so much so that Eva's feeling of being offended dissipated.

"I apologize if I offended you." Eero chuckled. "I'm just pointing out some facts."

Eva then realized what Eero was saying. She sighed, relieved that her past won't be an issue.

"Oh, please don't." She assured. "I'm used to it. At least you weren't rude."

After that, Hyun-Woo accidentally bumped into her. He was startled as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"**Oh, sorry.**" He apologized in Korean.

Eva's MR overlay quickly translated what Hyun-Woo was saying.

"**Did we arrive?**" He asked.

(TRANSLATION: (FR) Sommes-nous arrives? (ENG) Did we arrive?)

Oliver quickly looked out the window of the Razor when Hyun-Woo asked that. As he looked out, the Anvil came into view, its rugged metallic exterior reflecting the rising sun.

"Seems like it." He smiled, looking out to see some kind of structure embedded in some rock formations.

The Razor began to make its slow approach towards the Anvil. Standing by its helipad was Dr. Rufus Weller of the ESU, with Chase, Kazu, Yasamin, Valentina, Cammie and Caliban behind him. They were very excited.

"New recruits… this is kind of exciting!" Cammie exclaimed, her mechanical ears moving around. "To think more like us would be out there…"

"Well, while we were busy training you for the program, that didn't mean I wasn't looking for more recruits." Dr. Weller chuckled. "You will be looking after them."

The members were a little intimidated when Dr. Weller said that. On top of their normal training, to look after new recruits would be a lot more work.

"Let's hope there's no Union spy this time." Valentina commented. "We don't need something like that."

Kazu and Chase chuckled, but Yaz quickly shut them up when the Razor hovered just above its landing pad before finally touching down on the pavement. The Razor opened its passenger doors to reveal its five passengers. Once the door was fully opened, they disembarked from the Razor, carrying their luggage. Dr. Weller greeted them warmly.

"Mr. Hughes! Mr. Park! Ms. Graham! Mr. Laine! Madame Guillard!" He beamed. "Welcome to the Anvil! So nice to finally meet you all in person!"

A Vanguard soldier approached the five passengers and quickly took a picture of them. Oliver winced at the flash when his photo was taken.

"What a way to say hello." He complained.

"That's nothing, kid." Chase smiled. "Just wait until what's next."

"Is… that supposed to be a… joke?" Oliver asked, a little timid.

"_You'd wish, kid._" Kazu chuckled, crossing his arms. "_Caliban will store your gear in your rooms._"

In response, the seven-foot-tall robot grabbed hold of all of their luggage before setting off into the base. The new arrivals then looked around the base. And once the Vanguard soldier finished taking their ID photos, Dr. Weller stepped forward.

"So… what now?" Charlotte asked.

"Now, it's time to put you lassies into shape." Cammie said cheekily. "Let's get moving."

"Now, now, Miss MacCloud." Dr. Weller interrupted. "Let's do this slowly. We wouldn't want to overwhelm our new friends, now do we?"

"What are you talking about?" Eva asked. "Weren't we here for some sort of 'scientific research'?"

"Oh, yes you are." Dr. Weller smiled. "But there is one more test you all must pass. The senior members of the program will help you through all of the steps. I'll meet you all very shortly!"

Dr. Weller walked into the base, leaving his recruits with the new arrivals. Everyone exchanged greetings as they began to move into the base.

Oliver walked next to Cammie. He had a small blush on his face as he would often take small glances at her face. Cammie noticed this, and Oliver quickly shot his face the other way, even covering his face with one of his hands.

"Oi." She called. "You doing alright?"

"U-uh, yes." Oliver stammered. "Just… a li-li-little overwhelmed."

Cammie just looked at Oliver curiously, her ears pointing to the side. Oliver continued to look away, still trying to cover up his blush. Valentina saw this, and found it rather adorable.

"O bozhe…" She chuckled, quickly turning to Eva. "It would appear the young man has been hit with cupid."

"It would appear so." Eva agreed, noting Oliver's stammering.

The two chuckled quietly amongst themselves. The others seemed to be getting along just fine as well. Eero and Kazu were exchanging some hearty stories of their own experiences, while Charlotte and Yaz were discussing amongst themselves about current events. Chase was leading the gang with Hyun-Woo beside him. Hyun-Woo then noticed something.

"**Wait, you.**" He started, scanning Chase from top to bottom. "**You're not really here, are you?**"

Chase knew what Hyun-Woo was talking about. He sighed and just replied, "Yeah."

"**Well, where are you, now?**" Hyun-Woo asked. "**Normally people I'd like to meet and trust are in person.**"

Chase bit his lip. He couldn't really tell the new guy about his current condition, especially now. So, he tried to soften the blow as much as possible.

"Tell you what, man." He replied. "I'll let you know once you get suited up."

With that, Chase pixelated away in hexagons, leaving Hyun-Woo a bit confused, but more determined to find out what's going on.

A little while later, all of the new recruits found themselves putting on their bodysuits in the locker room. They were putting on what looked like body suits. They were colored to each of them respectively, with dark gray colored through their arms and lower legs. Eero's was black, Eva's was silver, Charlotte's was pink, Hyun-Woo's is brown, and Oliver's was orange. The body, thigh, and upper arm portions were colored black, and the suits all had one triangle shaped LED on this torso. They were quite intrigued by what they were wearing, to say the least.

"Can't say I've ever had to wear something like this before." Charlotte admitted, looking at her body, now being shown through the pink body suit she was wearing.

"**Dunno if this fits me or not…**" Hyun-Woo complained, flexing his legs after putting on his brown body suit.

Eva and Eero had similar reactions to wearing their new body suits, while Oliver just amazed by the suit. He was just very interested.

"Cool…" He muttered, looking at the suit. "What is this? Some kind of new body armor?"

Just then, the first gen:LOCK members entered the locker room, wearing similar body suits, only difference being their colors being different.

"_Just put them on, kid._" Kazu sighed. "_We'll explain as we go._"

Once everyone had put on their body suits, they went down to the mess hall, where they waited for Dr. Weller to call them in. As they waited, they decided to tell stories to pass the time.

"So, what is this about a Union spy here?" Eva asked, crossing her legs.

"Oh, yes." Yaz replied. "There was a spy that infiltrated here a while ago. Ironically, it was around this time that the spy was revealed."

Everyone quickly became alert, darting their eyes to the door, just in case any soldiers came out of there.

"Don't fret, everyone." Cammie assured. "If there was a Union spy, this time, we'd be ready to fight."

Just as she said that, Chase materialized into the room. It startled a couple people, mainly Oliver, as he appeared right in front of the young man.

"Whoa!" He cried, stumbling. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." Chase said. "Yaz. The doc's ready."

"Alright, everyone." Yaz called, getting up from her seat. "Let's move."

Everyone sat up from their seats and moved towards the elevator. They rode it down to the bottom, where they walked a bit more until they reached a huge circular lab with pods scattered around a big central computer. At those computers, was Caliban, and Dr. Weller, who turned around to welcome his new guests.

"Ah, here they are!" He smiled, standing up from his seat. "Welcome! Welcome!"

Everyone got situated in this new location, while Charlotte took a keen interest in something. She looked behind the huge computers, but she was interrupted as Dr. Weller spoke.

"Now that you're all here, I guess introductions are in order." He stated. "I am Dr. Rufus Weller of the ESU. And the robot behind you is my assistant, Caliban."

The robot stopped working and turned around to wave. Afterwards, it quickly went back to work. Dr. Weller then gestured to the other members, prompting them to introduce themselves.

"Cameron. But my friends call me Cammie."

"_Call me Kazu._"

"Valentina."

"Yasamin. But you can call me Yaz."

"Call me Chase."

With the first members now being introduced, the other members quickly exchanged their names. With introductions now done, Dr. Weller moved to the next step.

"Now, I suppose I told you what you are all here for." He explained. "You five are another group of remarkable people that are capable of achieving greatness."

Everyone raised their eyebrows. Dr. Weller raised his glasses before continuing.

"We are at the dawn of a new age. We have achieved technology that allows one to transfer his or her mind through an electronic mainframe. It is something that we call… gen:LOCK."

The other gen:LOCK members' eyes widened at that. Still, they were a little uncertain about this tech.

"Our minds… through an electronic mainframe?" Eero repeated. "And you say we are capable of this?"

"Yes." Dr. Weller responded. "Chase's team, or as officially referred to as gen:LOCK One, are the first five people in the entire globe that are capable of this. You five are the next group."

Oliver, Eero, Hyun-Woo, Eva, and Charlotte quickly looked at each other before looking back at the doctor. Hyun-Woo spoke up before anyone else could.

"**Judging by how you're phrasing it, it would seem that your technology was never developed for this war.**" He commented. "**Won't we be treated as just weapons by the Polity?**"

Dr. Weller paused at this question. Hyun-Woo wasn't wrong. He never intended for gen: LOCK to be used as a weapon of warfare. But, since the war with the Union began, and the Polity was getting swept, he had no choice but to offer his research for the war.

"…yes." He answered after pausing for a bit. "But I assure you. No upstart will be demanding things out of you."

The new recruits were still a little bit uncertain. They do know the things that the Union was capable of doing and they've only increased their aggression ever since the Battle of New York.

"As anyone died using this technology by chance?" Charlotte asked, crossing her arms.

Everyone except Chase quickly looked at each other alarmed. While it had been a while ago, they do remember the imposter Sinclair getting his head fried when he tried to use gen: LOCK. Chase looked confused, but he quickly realized what was going on.

"I'll take that silence as a yes." She conceded, grabbing a chair and sitting down.

"Uh… that's a wee bit disconcerting." Oliver admitted, rubbing his arm.

Everyone became quickly wary and timid, getting de-energized at the atmosphere in the lab got very sterile. Cammie and Kazu quickly stepped into lighten things up.

"_Hey._" Kazu started. "_If it's any consolation, when it works, it'll be awesome._"

"Yea." Cammie added. "Why don't we give them a little demonstration, if that'll help?"

Dr. Weller quickly snapped his fingers, and turning around to the screens.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He said. "Time to upload!"

Chase disappeared in hexagons, while everyone else walked towards their pods.

"Where do we set up doctor?" Yaz asked. "Are we setting up by hanger 2 again?"

"It's such a beautiful day; I don't see why not." Dr. Weller replied. "Set up the playground for our new friends."

One by one, Yaz and the others went into their pods. And while everyone immediately closed their eyes, Yaz quickly swiped across her pod to contact the hanger.

"Anvil Ground, this is ESU2. gen:LOCK One is waking up, taxiing to Staging Area One." She announced.

"gen: LOCK One. Anvil Ground, clear taxi, pull that 2-5 right for landing traffic." The operator responded.

"Taxi and hold. gen: LOCK One." Yaz concluded.

She looked to the other pods, where Kazu, Valentina, and Cammie were laying down in, and gave them a thumbs-up before laying down in her own pod. Once they were all situated, they closed their eyes, and uploaded.

Dr. Weller and Caliban oversaw the whole process from their computers. He motioned the new recruits over to one of the screens. Everyone turned their attention there, where it showed five white mecha waking up and walking away. The blue one, in particular, looked at the screen and saluted with two fingers.

"Well?" Dr. Weller smiled. "What do you think?"

Everyone didn't respond. They were too stunned to really figure out what was happening. Oliver spoke up to break the silence.

"That's… uh… what in the blazes that?" He asked.

One by one, everyone began to regain their speech to start talking all at once.

"**Mecha?**" Hyun-Woo asked.

"Are they all controlling those… from here?" Eva asked.

Dr. Weller raised his glasses again, satisfied with the reactions.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." He explained. "Their minds have been transferred to the cyber-brain inside their Holons."

Charlotte got confused again.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked. "From a medical standpoint, turning your brainwaves into digitized code…"

"I assure you, Ms. Graham. Everything will be explained soon." Dr. Weller replied.

He would've continued on if Cammie from the hanger.

"Oi, doctor!" She called. "Is anyone coming or what?"

Dr. Weller spun on his chair to face all of his new recruits. He had a rather excited look on his face.

"Any volunteers?" He chided.

It didn't seem to work. Everyone was still feeling anxious about this.

"Hesitancy. Understandable." He sighed. "I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but remember, you have nothing to worry about. All five of you are compatible with gen:LOCK."

Even with that, everyone was still hesitant. But, after a few tense seconds of silence, Oliver slowly raised his hand.

"I'll do it." He said bravely.

"Brave and bold, young man." Dr. Weller commended. "Caliban, if you could escort Mr. Hughes over to Destination Unit 6, if you'd please?"

Dr. Weller quickly turned back to computers as Caliban helped Oliver over to his pod.

Meanwhile, outside, all of the other remaining gen: LOCK members were setting up the playground. Kazu and Yaz's Holons were setting up these huge pillars, while Chase was shooting some hoops, waiting. Cammie and Valentina sat on the sidelines, waiting for their new recruits to come.

"So…" Valentina started. "That Oliver… he's cute, isn't he?"

"Huh?" Cammie responded, not really paying attention to what Valentina was saying. "You say something, Valentina?"

"Oliver." Valentina repeated. "He's cute."

Cammie's rabbit ears on her mech's head perked up, looking up at Valentina.

"What, are you fuckin' with me or somethin'?" She said in a really confused voice. "I just met that lad! Why would you think he would have a crush on me?"

"Ah, no reason." Valentina remarked, trying to stifle a chuckle. "It is actually quite obvious if you are more observant."

Then, Valentina walked away to assist Kazu and Yaz. Cammie then thought back to earlier, when Oliver was stammering when they were talking. Then, what Valentina said and Oliver's reply clicked together in her head. She quickly put her face in her hands, muttering things under her breath.

Back inside the lab, Oliver had just laid down in his pod, and the pod had now had him connected to the gen:LOCK technology.

"Everyone will be downstairs, ready to catch you." Dr. Weller assured calmly. "Are you ready, Mr. Hughes?"

Oliver breathed in and then breathed out loudly.

"Uh-huh." He replied. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Dr. Weller quickly moved back to the computers as the others continued to watch from the back. Caliban worked on the computers, beginning the preparation procedures.

"Clear your mind. Listen to your breathing." Dr. Weller whispered. "The goal is to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Just relax. Just be. You should sense a pulse; a repeating pressure you've never felt before at the edge of your mind. That's gen:LOCK's sync signal, looking for you. Give into it, reach for it, go to that sensation. Go to the light, grab it, and then hang on."

Oliver, listening to Dr. Weller, slowed his breathing down and closed his eyes. Caliban's monitor showed Oliver syncing up to the gen:LOCK program. The pod lit up, and then, Oliver felt that pressure take him down a winding path.

Oliver's perspective changed when he opened his eyes. He realized that he wasn't in the pod anymore. Instead, he was in the hanger, nestled in a bay. He looked around, seeing an engineer standing on a scaffolding beside him. Oliver then looked around. He rotated his arms around, now long and metallic. It also had some kind of orange muscle strands on it as well. He took one step, but he lost his balance, making him stop and correct himself.

"Oh, sorry." He said, waving at everyone working in the hanger bay at the time. "Pay no attention to me. I'm just… learning how to walk… again."

As Oliver's Holon took few more steps, he made contact with the bright sunlight. He lifted his hands to cover his eyes.

"This… this is amazing!" He admitted.

He looked around the area outside of the hanger. His HUD focused down on a set of automobiles, she heard some soldiers arguing and talking among themselves. After listening the static and the whatever words he could make out, he took a few more steps forward.

"Trucks are waiting in the yard…" He sang to himself as he took those steps. "Tackling them ease-ll…"

"Show the world what I can do… gaily boasts the Diesel-!"

As he was walking, he tripped and began to fall. Luckily, Kazu caught him and pulled him back onto his two feet.

"_You alright, kid?_" He asked, crossing his arms.

Oliver looked at Kazu's Holon in comparison to his own, and then looked around their surroundings. It was only then he realized how tall he was.

"Good lord, I'm tall!" He exclaimed.

"_Obviously._" Kazu said bluntly. "_You're four stories tall, after all._"

"No, like, really tall!" Oliver explained, pointing at his Holon's leg. "I think my legs are twice as long than they usually are!"

"You have a new center of gravity. Your legs are longer, proportionally speaking." Dr. Weller responded through their comms. "I only had enough time to design one frame to give you all, so I went with some idealized ratios, plus some stylistic touches. You'll adapt overtime."

Kazu scoffed a bit as Yaz walked up to them. Oliver looked at their armored Holons in comparison to his naked one. He quickly covered himself.

"Uh… I feel a little exposed here…" He muttered.

Cammie heard this, and giggled quietly. Kazu just chuckled and gave the kid a friendly pat on his shoulder. Yaz then contacted the lab.

"Who's next, doctor?" She asked.

Back in the lab, the remaining four candidates raised their hands. Dr. Weller turned around to see them lift their hands to volunteer. He smirked proudly, gesturing them to their pods.

One by one, the other Holons within the hanger woke up and began to move around. The brown one stretched its arms out. Hyun-Woo had uploaded onto this one.

"**So… this is my new body?**" He said to himself.

"You have a number of physical feedback indicators coming from all over your Holons." Dr. Weller explained. "It would be like moving your own body."

As Hyun-Woo's Holon stepped off from his bay, he was greeted by another group of Holons, to which he realized was his fellow candidates. The silver one was Eva, the pink one Charlotte, and the black one Eero.

"It's like I never even left my own body." Eero admitted, flexing his arms as if he was showing off his muscles.

Eva spun around a bit, admiring this new body of hers.

"I could work with this." She chuckled, making her arms flow gracefully past her body.

Charlotte was still trying to figure out how the Holon and her mind is able to function as one is medically plausible.

"The more I use this tech… the more it blows my mind…" She muttered to herself.

After their initial reactions were shared, Eero suggested that they should get moving. They all began to walk normally towards the hanger where everyone else was waiting for them.

"Condition and perception all looking good… no signs of cyber-attacks yet. Excellent!" Dr. Weller said as he kept tabs on everyone's statuses, as he rolled over to another monitor. "Let everyone gather outside, and we'll get going on engram formation. Oh, and happy second birthday, everyone!"

Then quietly, he added, "As many happy returns as possible…"

A little while later, Chase and Kazu were leading the new recruits towards where they had set up their playground for the day. Oliver was still having issues finding his balance on his Holon, but Charlotte helped him through it, with Hyun-Woo, Eero, and Eva walking beside them. As they walked on, Dr. Weller introduced the new recruits to their Holons.

"Welcome to your new bodies!" He announced. "Impervious to organic damage by virtue of having no organics onboard! And a wide, wide variety of benefits due to running your mind as code. There's so much we'll need to go over, but for now, just go play!"

The new Holons were a bit confused by this statement, but were quickly interrupted when Hyun-Woo was hit by metal ball of some kind. It clanked against the side of his head as it bounced on the ground for a bit. It was a small metal baseball.

"**A baseball?**" He asked.

Eero picked up the baseball and tossed it away. It sailed across the sky before disappearing.

"Oops." Eero muttered.

After the baseball had disappeared into the sky, Hyun-Woo turned his attention back to where the baseball had come from. He saw that Chase was leaning against a low shipping container with a crate of large metal balls.

"**Any chance you got a soccer ball?**" He asked.

Chase quickly rummaged through the crate and eventually found something that could double as one. Chase placed it on the ground before lightly kicking it to Hyun-Woo. Hyun-Woo stopped it, and quickly swiped the ball up with his feet. He juggled the ball with his feet a bit before shooting it back at Chase. Chase braced himself to catch it, but he missed, the ball slamming into the side of car.

Meanwhile, Eero was eager to test if this new Holon body of his is just strong as his real one. He walked over to Kazu, who was leaning up against a pillar. Eero approached him.

"So, I hear you are the muscle around here?" He asked.

"_Yeah, I am._" Kazu replied. "_You want something?_"

Eero quickly crouched down and propped his arm up against a shipping container. It would appear that he wanted to arm-wrestle. Kazu obliged, slamming his fists together. Then, he crouched down locked arms with Eero. Then, the two began to wrestle, the metal creaking under them.

Eva had moved to an isolated position, where she could be easily move around. She then began to some ballet routines, spinning and hopping. Valentina was fairly interested in it, so she approached her.

"You dance?" She asked.

"Yes." Eva replied. "I took lessons when I was a kid."

As Eva chatted along with Valentina, she continued to do her ballet routines, even going as far as doing a jumping leg split. Valentina was impressed, just watching her go.

Yasamin had backed off, but she accidentally ran into Charlotte, who was still trying to figure out this Holon works.

"Oh, sorry." She quickly said. "Didn't see you there."

"It's alright." Charlotte replied. "Just trying to figure out this body works, that's all."

"I could help you with that." Yaz suggested.

Yaz then quickly explained how to run with the Holons. She explained that they all have small wheels under their feet that allows them to glide along the ground. She then began to train her by doing some sprints around the playground.

Meanwhile, Oliver stood still, figuring out what to do. But Cammie quickly rushed by and tapped him on the shoulder before running away.

"Oliver, you're it!" She teased as she ran off.

Oliver turned back just to see Cammie run away.

"Hey, get back here!" He exclaimed.

He ran after Cammie, but Cammie had a trick up her sleeve. As she continued to run, she activated the wheels on her feet and swerved around. Once she got up to speed, she quickly slow downed and circled around to the back of Oliver. She then shoved him lightly, but the momentum caused him to fall flat on his face. He yelped as he fell. Cammie couldn't help but chuckle at the guy that supposedly has a crush on her as she pulled him back on his feet.

"Bloody hell…" Oliver muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Did I scare you?" Cammie teased.

This playtime with everyone went on for a bit. Chase quickly grabbed another ball and tried the dribbling trick that Hyun-Woo did, but he fumbled it as the ball rolled away from him and towards Hyun-Woo. Hyun-Woo decided to show him how to do it. He quickly did the dribbling one more time and had just shot it up before a purple smoke puffed it out of the air. Everyone then quickly turned to see a pair of smaller robots approaching them. They were Striders, piloted by the Vanguard's Charlie squad, Leon, Miranda, and Jodie.

"Gen: LOCK recruits! Meet your new drill instructors." Dr. Weller spoke again. "After today, they will begin your education in weapons, team combat tactics, and etcetera."

"They've had years of experience, and they are very generously donating their time to train you up. So, heed them well." Dr. Weller finished.

All of the new Holons approached the Striders, seeing the pilots inside. To be frank, they were a little worried for them.

"No offense, personnes…" Eva said. "Will you be okay, teaching us in those?"

"Hey, take it from us." Chase called. "They're the real deal. If you want to be trained, we got the right people."

The Strider pilots were a little flattered by the comment, but they quickly regained their composure and spoke to the new recruits.

"Like he said, we'll be whipping you rookies into shape." Jodie said. "And we're gonna have a hell of a time doing it."

"Now normally, I'd train our pilots in simulators, but if those other GL guys taught us anything, that is not the case." Leon commented. "And this is only a small taste of what's coming. School starts for real tomorrow."

"We'll be playing a simple round of capture the flag." Miranda explained, her Strider pointing to the flag post at the other end of the playground. "Just one of you has to get past us. Touch the flagpole. If we hit you, you're out."

And with the rules now set, all of the new gen:LOCK Holons got in ready position opposite the flag. They waited for the beginning signal. Leon fired a flare upward, signaling the start.

Everyone all charged forward, planning on rushing the Striders, but they were all immediately shot. Leon scratched his head in just defeat.

"Okay… let's go again." He sighed, gripping the controls again. "You can use the nearby structures as cover, yeah?"

The gen:LOCK recruits did as Leon suggested, this time avoiding and dodging the shots from the Striders a lot more easily. Still, they all got shot.

"No problem, you're not expected to win right outside of the gate." Leon said again. "Let's go again."

As the training unfolded, Dr. Weller watched the whole thing happen from his lab. Behind him, Colonel Marin walked up behind him and watched on as well.

Back outside, the recruits weren't making a lot of progress, but at least a little progress. However, every time they think they found an opening, the Striders immediately cover it. Oliver even tried a sneaky flanking move, but the Striders just flipped their guns around and just shot him, denying his chance at the flag.

Eero tried a direct approach, with Hyun-Woo running closely behind him. Eero crossed his arms in front of him as all of the Striders shot. Then, he stopped, planting himself into the ground. Then, Hyun-Woo jumped up, using Eero as a spring board. He soared over the Striders, and he landed on the other side gracefully. But he exposed his back, so he was shot in the back consequentially.

Now, it was Eva and Charlotte's turns. Eva got on top of the structures and hopped across them, while Charlotte charged forward to distract the Striders. She was shot, but it was a sacrifice so Eva could go for the flag. Miranda noticed this, so she called it out.

"We're missing one!" She said.

Everyone began to look around, and the Eva jumped down from the structure and towards the flagpole. Everyone began to cheer and yell for her, but it was a little premature. Jodie's Strider's guns flipped back, and shot Eva out of the air, knocking her off course and landing just outside the reach of the flag. Everyone deflated from their excitement.

"Alright, I think that's enough punishment for one day. Let's pack it in." Leon suggested.

"**Wait!**" Hyun-Woo yelled, raising his hand. "**One more time!**

"You sure you want that?" Jodie taunted. "I mean, we could definitely go more rounds, but considering the results…"

He was interrupted when all of the Holons began to move back to the starting line. Leon was a little surprised by this. Normally any time it's time to wrap up, the recruits would be thrilled.

"O-kay…" He muttered. "I guess one more time won't hurt. Reset, people."

The three Striders situated themselves in front of the flag one more time and prepped for the Holons. Speaking of which, Hyun-Woo had whispered something to them. They exclaimed a grunt of acknowledgement or something similar before getting into ready position. Leon fired another shot into the air.

All of the Holons rush toward the Striders. They all began to shoot at them, but Eero quickly ran up front, crossing his arms like before. He took all of the shots, but he continued to charge anyway. Oliver quickly positioned himself behind Eero, with Hyun-Woo running close behind. Charlotte and Eva had split off from the group, ducking into the structures. Charlotte weaved around them, while Eva climbed on top of one and began to jump across. After a bit more seconds of running, Eero stopped, planting himself again. Oliver quickly skidded to a halt, before clasping his hands together and turning around. Hyun-Woo then placed one foot on Oliver's hands, and Oliver launched him straight up. Hyun-Woo soared higher than last time.

"This again?" Jodie remarked. "Well, it won't work the second-"

Just then, Charlotte shot out from behind the structures and slammed into Jodie's Strider, knocking him out. The others tried to react in time, but Eva quickly landed in between them. Hyun-Woo used this chance to action-roll and grabbed the flag. He quickly got back on his two feet and raised it high into the air.

Even the first gen:LOCK members were impressed. Even on their first attempt, they never got a chance to grab the flag.

"_Well, would you look at that._" Kazu commented.

"That was… actually fuckin' amazing." Cammie agreed. "Good shite."

Everyone else also nodded in agreement, just stunned by the display of amazing teamwork from the new recruits. Dr. Weller quickly subsided the silence.

"Okay, well, I don't want to get anywhere exceeding uptime, which is a concept for later." He called in. "Let's call it a day, everyone."

Eva and Charlotte quickly helped the Striders back up on their feet, as two Hornbill aircrafts fly overhead and began to land nearby.

"Alright, time to clear out. Striders, back in hangers." Leon ordered. "gen:LOCK team… do whatever it is you guys do to reset."

As the Striders walked away, the Hornbills landed on their pads. A dozen medical trucks and cars drove up to them. The doors opened to let Union refugees out. Some were holding their sides as they exited, some were being carried by someone else, and some were even escorted out via some troops.

The new gen:LOCK recruits saw this, as well as the main gen:LOCK team. This was the third evacuation transport to arrive in the last month.

"It seems as if more days go by, there are more refugees…" Yaz sighed, putting her hands on her back.

"It's even worse when you know what the Union is very capable of." Eero muttered, leaning against one of the structures.

"Y'know, the daily news only tells you that they're increasing…" Oliver commented, clasping his hands together. "But… to actually see it…"

Cammie noticed this tenseness in Oliver, and wanted to comfort him, but she just kept to herself.

"It's whole new experience when you see it with your own eyes instead of through a video screen." Valentina added.

As the refugees exited and were escorted into the base, Dr. Weller mixed beside them, looking very grim.

"Needless aggression, unscrupulous greed, unchecked hate." He stated.

"Perfect words to describe those bastards." Charlotte interrupted.

Dr. Weller wiped his glasses, and continued after putting them back on.

"To have these thoughts, headlines, images, incessantly thrusted at you, second after second, minutes at a time… you become numb to it. They want you to feel as if all the evil in the world is too big to challenge. That loss of control leads to despair and destruction. To re-engage, to claw back even the smallest bit of control…"

He paused impressively. He sighed, and then continued on.

"You don't have to save the world; You just have to make a difference wherever you can, with the opportunities given to you. That is all I'm asking."

All of the gen: LOCK candidates quickly stood up and got around Dr. Weller's hologram.

"You make it sound so easy." Eva admitted. "But, you really have to ask yourself though: Can we, no, could we actually make a difference?"

"I know they are not." Dr. Weller retorted. "I had so much high hopes for how gen:LOCK could be used to expand communications, understand, and improve the human condition. But of course, in times of war, the first thing we do with it: is weaponize it. But maybe, just maybe, if this technology's purpose is to fight, we could apply it a new way. Saves lives, protect those who can't protect themselves, and buy time for others to finish this war. Afterwards, who knows what we can achieve?"

"And build a better world, a better peace." Yaz concluded.

"There is one glaring issue with that." Eero said. "Humanity is the one thing that ties all of those problems together."

"**Yeah.**" Hyun-Woo agreed. "**How would one solve evil?**"

"You can't." Chase answered. "But the least you can do is step up and take a stand against it. And we, out of the entire globe, are given a special chance to help more people than what could be possible."

"What is gen:LOCK, if not the next step in humanity's evolution?" Dr. Weller added. "And you can be the first ones to take us along that journey."

"_So, what do you all say?_" Kazu asked, crossing his arms.

Everyone looked among themselves, now finally hearing everything about why they are here. After looking at themselves to think, they turned their attention back to Dr. Weller.

"We get to fight the Union in whatever manner we desire, yes?" Eva asked.

"To some degree." Dr. Weller answered.

"What kind of missions will be undertaking?" Charlotte asked.

"Depends on the circumstances." Dr. Weller replied. "It may vary, but you will be making a clear difference in this fight."

The new recruits looked at each other, and then back at Dr. Weller. Hyun-Woo stepped forward and raised his hand at Chase. Chase smiled internally, and shook his hand.

"Woo-hoo!" Cammie cheered. "Put'er there!"

The two large Holons separated their handshake and looked at their respective squads.

"Looks like our team just got a lot bigger." He remarked.

"We should celebrate!" Cammie suggested.

"**How about some soju?**" Hyun-Woo suggested.

"_Oh, I've been dying to try some of that!_" Kazu smiled.

Then, all ten Holons walked into the hanger bay to download, continuing to talk about what to do to celebrate. Dr. Weller saw them off before disappearing.

Back in the lab, Dr. Weller tapped his glasses. He turned around to see Colonel Marin standing behind him.

"You have quite the talent for speeches." She complimented.

"Why, thank you." Dr. Weller smiled, standing up. "These recruits needed to be given the same choices the first team's had, after all."

"For once, I feel at ease." The Colonel admitted. "And I assume the location of the medivacs were only coincidental?"

Dr. Weller, proceeding to walk out of the lab, smiled.

"Let's go with that." He answered cheekily.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Alright, rise and shine gang." Chase's voice echoed. "It's a school day."

After getting inducted into gen: LOCK, it was time for the new recruits to begin their training officially. Four of them dragged themselves out of the bed. They all quickly washed up and put on their body suits. Eva would look at herself in the mirror with her back and behind in view. She didn't seem have that much of a reaction, but she seemed satisfied. Once they were done, Hyun-Woo quickly pushed Oliver out of his bed, making him land on the ground with a loud thud. Oliver, now awake, just picked himself up and followed suit as fast as he could.

The group eventually made it to the cafeteria, where they were given… less than desirable foods. But that didn't stop Charlotte from making fresh food for the entire team. Thanks to them, everyone was able to get their energy for the day.

Later, inside their Holons, they began training. Target practice, everyone seemed to do fine, as they all somewhat of an experience when handling firearms. Oliver fell behind a little bit, but he quickly picked it up. To the Colonel's interest, she was impressed that these batch of recruits were getting the hang of things more quickly. In the obstacle course, Oliver surprised everyone by just bouncing over everything. He explained that he took a little bit of gymnastics when he was younger, but was worried if that would translate into his Holon. Eva found that a little cute.

Not only this, the team also listened to all of Dr. Weller's lectures on the gen: LOCK program, such as the protection of the brain, uptime, overclocking, their bodysuits, and the GL network, or more colloquially referred to as, mindshare. Charlotte took extensive notes on the subject. They even learned that Leon was also eligible to join, but was just a little too old.

A few days later, their Holons finally received the Vanguard Armor. Not only of the white armor, but they also received a few pieces in their own color. Hyun-Woo brown, Oliver orange, Eero black, Charlotte pink, and Eva silver. It was only then, they proceeded to receive on some hand-to-hand training. Chase took on Hyun-Woo, and he was a little surprised that Hyun-Woo was able to keep up. Yaz handled Charlotte, who took a little more time getting used to combat inside a Holon. Cammie and Oliver went at it, but Oliver held back a little, since he didn't want to hurt his crush. Cammie clearly took advantage of this, so she quickly overpowered him. Eva and Valentina fought each other, each learning a bit about the other. Kazu and Eero… well, let's just say a few walls of the Anvil had to let in a little natural light due to their competitive edge.

Once the day's training was over, all of the Holons returned to their bays and all of the candidates downloaded into their bodies. Miranda was just finishing up getting out of her Strider when Chase mixed in behind her.

"So, how's it looking?" He asked with a smile.

Miranda didn't seem to return it, but she did answer his question.

"Well, to be frank, these guys are progressing a lot faster than the first recruits had." Miranda answered.

"Is that so?" Chase responded.

"Here are some things I have noticed." Miranda explained. "Eva, while being a little flashy in her methods, serves enough of a distraction for us to get around, or even flank. Charlotte and Hyun-Woo are fairly similar, being the two forward offensive dealers, so they always attack first. Eero is always in the middle, being the center of his team's performance. Oliver, while he is still learning, can provide decent support from the back."

"As a fireteam, they're already doing more than enough." She concluded. "Now, the issue they have is if all that can transfer onto the battlefield. Or they'll be handing their four-story metal asses on a silver platter, just like your guys when they started out."

"Damn, girl." Chase sighed. "That's cold."

"That's what everyone sees." Miranda chided. "Leon and Jodie think so too."

With that said, Miranda just continued on into the base. Chase just stood there, not knowing what to do. Leon and Jodie saw this go on, so they approached Chase from the back.

"So…" Jodie began, trying to lighten up the mood. "She's a bit forward."

"Kid, she's been like that since he got back." Leon reminded.

Chase just shook his head and faced the other two Strider pilots. He didn't have an annoyed look, instead he had a positive look.

"If you guys are here to talk about us, it's alright." He started.

"No offense, man." Jodie explained. "You can't really blame her."

"I never said I was." Chase corrected.

Jodie got really quiet. He never considered Chase to be the type of guy that could be angered easily, but even with something like this, he never thought he would be this chill.

"Uh…" He stuttered. "Huh. Never thought of what I was going to say after that."

"How about an 'I'm sorry' from me?" Chase asked, trying to lightened up the mood.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, leaning on his Strider.

"Miranda gave me the gist of what you guys went through while I was gone." Chase explained. "Dying on you guys once was bad enough. But if I reached out and then died again… you get why I did what I did. You know, I'm barely holding to life as it is. The least I can do is make amends with everyone when I still have this chance."

Leon and Jodie looked at each other before turning back to Chase.

"You're surprisingly chill with everything that's been going on." Leon mentioned.

"I've had some time to make peace with it." Chase replied. "If you guys want to talk more, you know where my tank is."

With that said, Chase pixelated away, leaving the two Strider pilots in the hanger. Leon put a hand on Jodie's shoulder, and the two quickly went into the base.

Migas was watching the whole thing from afar, working on what looked like a Hornbill. He was so focused he didn't notice Oliver mixing in beside him.

"Well, that didn't sound good." He commented.

Migas jumped at the hearing of Oliver's voice, and quickly turned to see the young man standing beside him.

"Where'd you come from?" He asked.

"I'm mixing in from my Holon. Chase does it all the time, so I thought I'd give it a try." Oliver replied. "What are you doing?"

Migas then turned to see what Oliver was looking at. It looked like a Hornbill, but it was much larger, maybe with cargo space for an entire squad of Striders.

"A larger Hornbill for you guys." Migas explained. "I mean, with you new guys on board, you're going to need a much more practical mean of getting around."

Migas swiped to the side to show Oliver the blueprints. Oliver studied it a bit before finally giving him his thoughts.

"Well, you're going to have to take into account of how this thing is going to defend itself." Oliver said. "I mean, I know we'll be escorted, but at the very least."

"I'm no expert on weapons, kid." Migas chuckled. "But I will take it up with the higher ups to see what I can do."

"Alright, that's assuring." Oliver smiled. "Also, if it's not much… do you think my Holon could be stored beside Cammie's?"

"I don't decide that." Migas chuckled. "But… you could try. Not sure if it'll work, but you could try."

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He really hadn't been trying to hide his little crush on Cammie since he got here. Oliver looked around to make sure if anyone else was around.

"Don't worry, kiddo." Migas laughed. "Your secret's safe with me."

Oliver nodded, and then pixelated away. Migas went back to working on this huge behemoth.

Later, the members of gen:LOCK 2 were given a bit of downtime to themselves. Hyun-Woo was cleaning his sword that he brought along, while Eero was doing pushups to pass the time. Eva was writing a letter, while Oliver was looking through some pictures he took. Charlotte had just returned from the shower, and was just drying her hair.

"Ah…" She sighed. "I've never had a shower in weeks… that hit the spot…"

"**Do they not have showers where you're from?**" Hyun-Woo joked.

"I'm just saying it's been a while." Charlotte replied, playfully punching his back.

Hyun-Woo just sighed and sheathed his sword back into its scabbard. He then leaned back on his bed, sighing loudly.

"**Ah…** **I want to drink something…**" He sighed.

"You do know the mess hall is open, yes?" Eero replied, standing up from his pushups.

"**I know…**" Hyun-Woo corrected. "**I just want to get out of this base and get some fresh air…**"

"That makes two of us." Eva agreed, clicking her pen.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but we can't go off-base." Charlotte said, sitting down on her bed.

"Then, what do we do for fun around here?" Eero asked, taking a sip from his canteen.

Everyone wondered a bit as Oliver quickly stood up from his bed.

"Uh… the Ether?" He suggested. "It's the only method of fun anyone has these days."

Everyone looked at each other for a few minutes before going back to deciding.

"What's the matter?" Oliver asked. "This is the one time we have some downtime! Why not spend it together or something?"

"But we spend the last few days being with each other." Eva retorted. "No offense, but I speak for all of us when I say we could use some personal space."

Everyone nodded quietly. Eva was right. It has only been a few days since they had arrived, but they felt as if it was time for them to get some time to themselves. Oliver, still wanting to be with his new friends, got down from his bed

"Correct me if I'm wrong." Oliver asked. "We've only interacted as teammates, right? Given we don't how long we're going to be together, could we at least get to know each other?"

Everyone looked at each other, but Oliver's logic wasn't wrong. Since they really don't know how long they'll be together, might as well get to know each other.

"Very well." Eva conceded.

Oliver smiled as he quickly went back up his bed and put his headset on, everyone else quickly grabbed their headsets too, getting comfortable on the floor, bed, or desk.

"I'll meet you guys in the main lobby." Oliver called as he logged in.

_(Cue Beneath the Mask – Persona 5) _

_**Username: OliversEleven**_

_**Password: ************_

As the Ether materialized, Oliver's Avatar came into being. It was Spider-Man (Homecoming Suit), and to his surprise, they weren't as many people in the Ether right around now. Even the music was calm, fitting the calm nature of the Ether. He looked around, not really noticing a lot of people around.

"Huh." He admitted. "A lot less crowded than I remember."

He opened a screen to let everyone log in near him. He first tapped on Eero's name, letting him spawn behind him. Oliver turned around to meet Reinhardt (Overwatch). He had to look up a bit just to see him.

"Reinhardt, huh?" He said. "Not a bad choice."

"He's a personal favorite of mine." Eero said, crossing his huge arms. "He reminds me of me, somehow."

Just as they finished, another figure spawned near them. It was Eva, but it was Lupin X (Super Sentai). Her form shined as she came. Oliver and Eero were intrigued by the look.

"Well." Eero commented. "You really like the color silver, don't you?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing, monsieur." Eva retorted.

"We're not just used to being all… flashy, you know?" Oliver corrected.

"What, me being a phantom thief wasn't flashy enough for you, train boy?" Eva joked, stroking the smaller kid's chin.

Oliver stuttered a bit, but Eva chuckled as she stepped back. Another figure spawn in behind them as well. It was a robot, but there was one thing that everyone was able to find. The robot had a small Autobot logo on its shoulders and its chest, and it immediately put its hands on its hips. It was First Aid.

"Y'know, when Oliver said we get to know each other, I didn't imagine this." Charlotte's voice commented.

Following her was Hyun-Woo, dressed in a traditional Korean Hwarang uniform. He was quite amused with the situation.

"**So, what are we gonna do?**" He asked. "**Not really the atmosphere for games though.**"

Everyone looked around. Hyun-Woo was right. Not a lot of people are online at the moment, so this wasn't turning out well for them.

"I mean, we could do a little small thing between ourselves." Oliver suggested.

"How about a little more company?" asked a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see a lot of familiar faces heading towards them. They saw a rabbit, which was identified to be Cammie, Chase with a hoodie on, Kazu in a punk rock-like outfit, Yaz with long hair and a hijab, and another well-dressed male that they couldn't identify yet.

"Cammie?" Oliver asked. "Is that you?"

"Of course, it's me. Who the fuck else would it be?" Cammie replied with a raised eyebrow.

"_We were just as surprised to find the Ether empty._" Kazu admitted. "_But Chase heard that you guys were online so we'd give you guys a visit_."

"Good timing too." The other man replied, strangely with Valentina's voice. "We were just looking for some fun as well."

Everyone was surprised by this. They were not expecting this.

"Valentina?" Charlotte asked. "Is that you?"

"Please." Valentina corrected. "Call me Val."

"Wait, what?" Charlotte asked again, raising an eyebrow. "What are you going on about?"

"Nyet, it's fine if you don't get it." Val explained. "I've already explained it to my team once, so I guess it wouldn't be as awkward to say it to you."

"Genderfluid?" Eva asked, walking up to Val. "Yes, I'm familiar."

Eva looked all over Val. She was somewhat impressed by what she saw. And considering how nonchalant Val was acting, she deduced that this wasn't the first time.

"If you don't mind me asking," She asked. "Have you shifted before?"

"A few times." Val replied. "It's like riding a bicycle. You get used to it after a while."

Charlotte, finally taking everything in, decided to speak up.

"Then… what were you born as?" She asked.

Val looked at the robot, and moved a hand across the faceplate.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?" She said very mysteriously.

Charlotte just shrugged the odd feeling off, and retreated back to her team. Meanwhile, Hyun-Woo had taken a brief look at Yaz. But it was only a glance.

"So, what do you fellas had in mind?" Chase asked.

"Well…" Oliver muttered, scrolling through the options. "I was thinking something like fantasy warriors, maybe?"

He soon found one that he was looking for and picked it. Instantly, everyone's forms transformed into RWBY outfits. The gen:LOCK One crew were wearing the ones they had before: Chase as Jaune, Yaz as Blake, Cammie as Ruby, Kazu as Sun, and Val as Ren. As for gen:LOCK Two, they received a few cool outfits to fit them as well. Hyun-Woo received Neptune, Charlotte got Nora, Oliver had chosen Oscar for himself, Eero got Yatsuhashi, and Eva got Weiss.

"We could slay monsters just to pass the time, if you get my meaning." Oliver concluded.

"Well, hate to burst your bubble, but…" Cammie interjected. "Why not just hang out with us IRL?"

Everyone paused for a minute. They all looked at each other and then logged off one by one. Cammie and Chase couldn't help but chuckle before logging off with the rest of their teammates.

Back in the real world, gen:LOCK Two quickly took off their headsets and got outside their barracks. Right outside, they found the gen:LOCK One, waiting for them. They all made it to the mess hall where they were now laughing, and exchanging funny stories together. Cammie felt Oliver was particular nervous around Cammie, with everyone noticing. They still stayed quiet about it, much to Oliver's chagrin.

Suddenly, the alarms in the base suddenly went off. Able's voice echoed throughout the base.

"Interceptors, ready one and ready two. Scramble. Alert Teams Baker, Charlie, gen:LOCK One and gen:LOCK Two. Report to North Mech Hanger for immediate load up. Repeat, Interceptors…"

"**Is that us**?" Hyun-Woo asked.

"Well, time to see what you fellas can do." Chase smiled, mixing away.

Immediately, everyone quickly grabbed their bodysuits and ran down to the hangers, where they boarded and departed to the call of duty.

They quickly arrived at their destination. Four Hornbills, flanked by a squadron of Interceptors, approached a

"We'll be dropping you right in the center of Oklahoma City." Colonel Marin explained.

"Alright, Colonel." Leon asked. "What's going on? Why Oklahoma City?"

"Intelligence reports that the Union are looking for a staging area." Dr. Weller replied. "Looks like this is where they first set their sights on."

"The city was evacuated when the attack began." Colonel Marin continued. "Your tasks are to get inside and handle any forces that you come across."

"Hm. Shouldn't be that hard." Eero commented, crossing his arms. "Although I am not quite fond of our method of travel."

Eero wasn't wrong. Due to their main Hornbill was still under construction, they had to make do with using two separate standard issue Hornbills, which meant that the gen:LOCK Two's Holon were on a different Hornbill just outside theirs.

"This is how you will all usually deploy" Dr. Weller sighed. "We fly you in, upload, take care of business, download, and then fly back home."

"Still, take caution." Colonel Marin said. "Even though the Union seemed to have stopped throwing curveballs, we still can't guarantee what you'll be heading into."

"Like our mystery mech?" Chase asked.

Everyone from gen:LOCK Two got confused at that.

"Mystery mech?" Oliver asked. "What's that?"

"It's this dark and scary bastard that attacked us in our last mission." Cammie answered. "That thing could still be out there."

"It is the one variable in the Union's attack that we never can factor in." Colonel Marin added. "The least I can tell you is to be safe out there."

"That goes double for all of you." Dr. Weller finished, looking at gen:LOCK Two.

Charlotte crossed her arms as Colonel Marin continued to explain. She then remembered something.

"Oh doctor!" She called. "When do we upload?"

Dr. Weller then looked at the clock. It just struck 23:47.

"Uh… now!" He called.

On cue, everyone quickly got into their pods. They all closed their eyes as they all uploaded into their Holons.

While gen:LOCK One were used to being a little cramped in their cargo bay, the same couldn't really be said for gen:LOCK Two. When they uploaded, the little amount of space they had within the Hornbill… wasn't very ideal.

"Uh… a little cramped, ain't it?" Charlotte commented.

"Monsieur Park, would you mind moving a bit please?" Eva asked.

"**Do you think I have space to move?**" Hyun-Woo shot back, shifting a bit.

"Alright, cut the chatter, GL Two." Leon's voice called. "We're coming in hot."

Just as Leon said that, the Hornbill rocked. From outside, the Union spider tanks and squads of Union troopers have begun firing on the Vanguard transports. The bottom of the two Hornbills opened, allowing them to look at the ground below. They were all littered with Union forces, laying constant fire on the incoming aircraft.

Then, they saw Chase and Yaz's Holons moving down first, changing their armor into a camo-like plating. They even tag-teamed in taking down a Union tank. Valentina came down next, landing on top of a building, surveying her surroundings. Cammie and Kazu deployed next, and while not having the smoothest landing with the occasional collateral damage, they quickly went to work on the Union soldiers.

It was time for gen:LOCK Two to deploy. Hyun-Woo went first. He swooped down gracefully, rolling as he hit the ground. He saw a tank darting towards him. On impulse, he went for his side, but then realized that he didn't have his sword.

"**Force of habit.**" He groaned.

He just charged at the tank and grabbed its leg. He then threw it over his shoulder, slamming it down onto the road.

Eva and Charlotte came down next. Eva landed on a building beside Valentina. Valentina waved, with Eva giving a simple wave back. Eva then hopped across the other buildings as Valentina set up with her rifle.

Charlotte rolled down as well, quickly going for a downed Strider. Three spider tanks were on top of it. She soon came in and kicked one tank over the side, and shot another. The other tank just fired its guns as her in retaliation. Charlotte shielded the downed Strider until it stopped shooting. She winked at the pilot before turning back and ripping its main gun off and impaling the tank's main body with it.

Next, Oliver came down next. He was very excited.

"Let's rumble!" Oliver called as he dropped down.

But that call to action was a little premature, as he immediately lost his footing, making him slide all over the place for a bit. He spun around a few times, knocking a few cars and signs over, but quickly regained it. Once he had stopped, he looked around, hoping that nobody saw.

"Nailed it." He said to no one before rushing towards the others.

Lastly, Eero dropped down. As he darted down, he aimed right on top of a spider tank, crushing it when he landed. He stood perfectly still for a good few seconds until he started moving again. He then ran forward to the others.

"Everyone, turn on your camo!" Yaz called. "We're rendezvousing with Leon and the others!"

Every Holon engaged their camo and began to make their ways towards Leon. Cammie, running into a couple Union troops, quickly shot them down with a billboard before moving on. As she continued on, she jumped and pointed her gun at a huge figure. She then realized she almost shot Charlotte, who just looked her, confused.

"Oh, bloody hell, Charlotte!" She griped. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were the mystery mech!"

"Right…" Charlotte muttered. "Let's just get to Leon quickly."

Speaking of Leon, he and his squad have encountered several Union tanks, with infantry soldiers and fighter drones. They were at a bit of standstill, just shooting each other with no real impact.

"Alright, grunts hang back." Leon called. "Striders, move up and we'll keep up the…"

Leon was interrupted when a tree flew past his view. The tree crashed into one of the Union tanks, getting its attention. Then, Eero darted past them, yelling a battle cry. He swiped the fighters aside, throwing them into the sides of the buildings. He kicked some troopers and slammed his arms down on one of the tanks. Then, with his arm still in the tank, he slammed another into the ground with it.

"_And you say I don't look out for collateral damage._" Kazu joked, watching Eero going ham on the Union forces.

Leon just shook his head and went back on task.

"All teams, report." He ordered.

"Area secure here." A voice called. "Just doing some last-minute cleanups."

"Same with us." Chase replied. "Nothing out of the ordinary here."

Leon thought about what to do next. In the end, he just decided to follow protocols.

"Alright then." He finally answered, giving out new sets of orders. "Sweep the area. Striders, we'll take the eastern side of the city. GL, you take the west. But stay close. Keep your channels open."

"Copy." Chase replied. "You heard him, let's get to it."

One by one, the Striders and the Holons departed in opposite directions. Chase and Miranda exchange a brief glance, but they departed to patrol nonetheless.

For a while, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Each side encountered small amounts of resistance from Union tanks, fighters, and infantry. But, so far, nothing too out of the ordinary.

"It's a little too quiet…" Eero commented. "They never leave an area this empty…"

"You're right." Yaz agreed. "There's usually a lot more."

All of gen:LOCK took that comment into consideration as they got more alert. Valentina surveyed from building to building, looking down her sniper scope. Eva was bouncing from building to building, strangely making no sounds at all.

Cammie, holding her pistol tightly, turned a corner past an abandoned commercial building. She turned to the left to find a purple cloud. Out of the clouds stepped out a large hulking mech with four arms.

"Oh hell…" She muttered.

As the dark mech got closer and closer, the purple cloud behind it got thicker, spraying around it. Before the cloud got to her, Cammie quickly contacted everyone else.

"Guys…?" She said. "It's here!"

Before she could continue, the black mech charged her, tackling her into a building. She yelled in response, landing some kicks in response.

"_Cammie!_" Kazu called. "_Damn it, come on!_"

Chase quickly formulated a plan in his HUD. He took note of every Holon's position.

"Oliver, you're the closest!" He ordered. "Get to Cammie, quickly! We'll get to you as soon as we can!"

"O-o-on my way!" Oliver stuttered, running down the street.

Chase and the others began speeding their way down to Cammie's position. Back in the Anvil, Dr. Weller just as concerned as they were.

"Oliver, hurry!" He pleaded.

Oliver ran as fast his Holon's legs could carry him. He glanced at his radar, and he was getting close. As he rounded the corner, he stopped. He saw the dark and menacing mech trying to rip Cammie's head off. She was resisting, but she was losing. He got scared, but his crush's safety mattered more right now. He overclocked his stats just a tad, and then he darted down the road.

The mech turned its head, just in time to get body slammed away. Cammie shook her head and saw that Oliver was standing in front of her, with his arms out by his sides.

"Don't you touch her!" He shouted in a very firm stance. As he said that, he reset his stats back to normal.

"Oliver…?" Cammie muttered, standing up.

The black mech got back up groggily, its head and one eye twitching. Oliver grabbed his pistol and began firing. The mech didn't seem to react, as it just charged at him with its four arms. Oliver kept on shooting, but the mech grabbed hold of the pistol and crushed it. Oliver got wide-eyed, and was grabbed in the face. The mech swung him over its head, slamming him down to the road. It then bent forward, planning to rip his head off. Oliver covered his face, but the mech was resilient. It pinned Oliver's arms and went for his head. It suddenly stopped as it lurched back up suddenly. Cammie had gotten hold of his other two arms, yanking them back.

"Leave him alone!" She ordered.

The mech twitched again, and just pushed Cammie away. Oliver tried to move, but the mech pinned him down by grabbing hold of his face. Cammie grabbed her pistol and shot the mech, but that didn't get its attention. It just formed a purple mist barrier in between them.

To her luck, Hyun-Woo swooped in from above, landing a perfect bicycle kick on the side of the black mech. The mech tumbled down the road, but quickly recovered by getting on all its limbs. Oliver sat up to see what was going on.

"**You okay, kid?**" Hyun-Woo asked.

"I'll live." Oliver muttered, getting up.

The mech twitched again, and lunged at Hyun-Woo. However, he dodged it after pushing Oliver to safety. Hyun-Woo braced his fists and lunged at the hulking robot.

The black mech dodged Hyun-Woo's first few punches. It grabbed one of them and was about to swipe him away when it was shot with bullets. Yaz and Chase had arrived, firing their guns. Kazu and Eero ran past them, Kazu with two cars in his hands. Eero went for a punch, but was knocked aside. Kazu was also swept aside, losing the cars he had in his hands. That distracted the mech long enough for Hyun-Woo to get his fist back, going for back kick.

The mech stumbled again, and then turned to Yaz, who was still shooting. It charged, but Chase and Eero tackled it against each other. Kazu then went for another slam, but was caught and thrown into Hyun-Woo, the two slamming into a building. Hyun-Woo scoffed, and just ripped off a maintenance pipe. He used it as a makeshift sword, but was broken when he tried to hit the mech over the head with it. Yaz quickly regained its attention by shooting again.

The mech grabbed hold of both her SMGs, twisting her arms. But Yaz quickly made some distance between with a spin kick. Then, behind her, Charlotte popped up and got on the back of the mech. She punched the head of it over and over. The mech grabbed her by the arm and slammed her down. The mech raised its arms, but Kazu stopped it by grabbing hold of them. The mech threw him aside, and then dodged a ground pound from Eero.

From above, Eva and Valentina had been watching the fight unfold. Valentina was looking down her scope, but just can't seem to find the mark.

"Can't get a clear shot…" She muttered.

"I'll get you that!" Eva called.

Eva then swooped down from her building, getting on the ground level. She grabbed two maintenance pipes on her way. As she ran forward, she contacted her teammates.

"Alright, personnes!" She called. "We need to get Valentina a clean shot! Pin it down!"

Eero moved in first. The black mech swiped its arm to the side. Eero dodged it, and quickly grabbed that arm. He then pulled it. The mech retaliated with its other arm, but Kazu got hold of that one. The mech's other arms were held by Yaz and Charlotte, who proceeded to pull as well. Eva swooped in just then. She got low, and dug the two maintenance pipes into the ground where one of the mech's legs were, trapping it.

Valentina took this opportunity. She quickly lined up her scope and pulled the trigger. The shot hit the mech right in the head, blasting it back. The mech fell on its back, and then it just looked up. All seven Holons got into a battle stance in front of it. The mech stood up, with the purple mist dissipating back into a small cloud around it. The mech then stood up and ran away.

Everyone, now with the danger gone, eased up from what they had just went through and began to speak.

"Was that the mystery mech you guys mentioned before?" Charlotte asked.

"Yup." Chase replied. "Tall, dark, ugly, and… that."

Charlotte crossed her arms. She wasn't satisfied with the description.

"Hey, I'm just saying what I saw." Chase explained.

As they continued talking about their recent encounter, Valentina dropped down from her building and helped Cammie up.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cammie sighed. "Could've gotten my head ripped off again if it wasn't for Oliver."

Valentina looked at Oliver being helped by Hyun-Woo, who gave the orange Holon a pat on the shoulder.

"It was lucky he was close by." Valentina mentioned.

"I guess…" Cammie admitted, her voice very quiet.

A few minutes later, all of the Striders and Holons have regrouped at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Striders and Holons were waiting outside as Leon gave the Colonel the debrief.

"Command, the city's clear." He reported. "Last bogie encountered by GL has just… moved off. Again."

"Good work." Colonel Marin replied, putting her hand on her chest as a sign of relief. "Re-establish the perimeter. Better safe than sorry."

"As for both gen:LOCK squads," She continued. "Secure Holons on the transports and prepare for download."

All of the Holons crouched down to load their Holons into their Hornbills and downloaded back into their bodies. Cammie, once she woke up, looked over to Oliver, who just walked away and sat at one of the free seats of the Hornbill. She wanted to thank him, but she was cut off as Hyun-Woo and Charlotte sat down on either side of the teen and gave him some consoling. She sighed and just sat back down on her pod.

"Next time, moya zaika." Valentina whispered. "Next time."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_Oliver, you're the closest!" He ordered. "Get to Cammie, quickly! We'll get to you as soon as we can!" _

"_O-o-on my way!" Oliver stuttered, running down the street._

_Oliver ran as fast his Holon's legs could carry him. He glanced at his radar, and he was getting close. As he rounded the corner, he stopped. He saw the dark and menacing mech trying to rip Cammie's head off. She was resisting, but she was losing. He got scared, but his crush's safety mattered more right now. _

_He wanted to move, but his legs didn't move. No matter how hard he tried, his legs stood still, refusing to move. He couldn't help but watch the black mech slowly tear Cammie's head off. Her screams bled into his ears as he continued trying to move. _

"_Come on…!" Oliver grunted, trying to get his legs move by force. _

_The mech threw Cammie on the ground and tore into her chest plate, ripping off the armor to go for the Cyberbrain inside. Eventually, Oliver was able to move, but when he took one step, the black mech had finally succeeded in ripping out her Cyberbrain. It hoisted it up in the air as if it was presenting the head of its latest prey. As it did, Oliver saw a dark cloud of purple mist coming towards him like tsunami. Still, his legs didn't want to move as the cloud slowly consumed Cammie's dead Holon as well as his unmoving…_

Oliver gasped sharply as he shot his eyes shot open. He sat up and looked at his surroundings. He was back in his bunk with the rest of gen:LOCK Two. He looked below his bunk to find Charlotte asleep, just as everyone else. He quickly brushed his hair back and looked for his glasses. Once he put them on, he quietly snuck out of his bunk and went to the mess hall.

To his surprise, he found a couple of people present. Some were watching news on through screens and even just catching up with family and friends. Oliver, combing some knots out of his hair, quietly made himself a cup of lavender tea. He quietly sat at one of the tables and tried to get the nightmare out of his head. He was so fixated on the dream; he didn't hear someone sitting down next to him.

"You alright, Oliver?" asked a female voice.

Oliver looked to the side to find Miranda. She was in a simple workout t-shirt with her typical military pants and boots. She also had a cup, but instead of tea, it was coffee.

"Oh, Ms. Worth." Oliver greeted. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"It's alright." Miranda replied with a warm smile. "And no need to be so formal. Call me Miranda."

Oliver sighed loudly as he took another sip of his tea. He pulled his hands over his face. Maybe Miranda could help.

"Say… Miranda." Oliver said. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure. Shoot." Miranda smiled.

So, Oliver told Miranda about the dream he had. The stuff with the black mech, Cammie, and about his legs not being able to move. Miranda didn't have a visible reaction on her face, but it was obvious that she understood that this was a very serious matter to Oliver.

"It's like they're showing me something." Oliver concluded. "I never really thought about what could've happened… but the dream… it just never stops…"

Miranda bit her lip. In the past, she's had her own experiences with these kinds of dreams, but she worked through them. This was a 17-year-old kid… she heard from Chase how Cammie dealt with her fear of the black mech, but so she figured it was her turn.

"Then don't." She simply said.

"Excuse me?" Oliver muttered, sipping his tea again.

"It's like you said: It COULD have happened." Miranda explained, turning to face him. "But it didn't. Cammie is safe, thanks to you and your teams. There's no point in wondering about what-ifs."

Oliver thought on her words. She was right. The black mech could have made it with Cammie's Cyberbrain with her mind still running inside. He could have taken his time to get to her. But he didn't. He ran as fast he could to rescue her. And the black mech didn't get away with Cammie's Cyberbrain.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Oliver sighed, finishing his tea. "Thank you, Miranda."

"Hey, it's like you said. It could have, but it didn't." Miranda smiled. "Now go get some sleep. I'll take your cup."

Oliver greeted good night to Miranda and left back to his bunk. It was a good thing now that he was able to talk about it, but there was still this gut feeling that made him pause: Would he be able to tell Cammie about this? He carried this thought with him until he was back under his covers on his bunk.

Morning came sooner than expected. Everyone from gen:LOCK Two was already up and getting ready for the day. Oliver was the last one to wake up, but was still able to get up to get breakfast. As they got their food, Oliver waved to Miranda on her way. Miranda, with a smile, waved back. Everyone from gen:LOCK Two was a little confused at this, but they decided to ignore it.

Now, it was time for training. The members of gen:LOCK Two rode the elevator down to Dr. Weller's lab, where they met gen:LOCK One. Oliver saw Cammie yawning very loudly as Dr. Weller and Caliban prepped their upload time.

"You didn't sleep well?" He asked.

"Not really." Cammie sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Let's just say I had an… awkward dream."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at that, but before he could ask, Dr. Weller announced that everyone can upload now. Just as all of the recruits began to make their way to their pods, Chase mixed in beside Dr. Weller.

"So, I guess all-nighters are pretty commonplace now?" He asked cynically.

"And again, I ask have you ever seen me sleep?" Dr. Weller replied in a quippy way.

"Alright, point taken." Chase admitted, shaking his head. "Then riddle me this: How come the Vanguard still has almost no intel on our mystery mech? The thing showing up near Cammie is definitely a coincidence, but it going for the brain housing again? That's no coincidence."

"Yes, I've noticed." Dr. Weller replied calmly. "We're trying our best to piece together everything."

"And you sure jumping back in a good idea?" Chase finished, looking at the members of gen:LOCK Two. "I bet they're still trying to get over that."

"Ah, don't worry." Dr. Weller chided. "If you lot have taught me anything, it's that you are more resilient than you look."

Chase smirked, and then uploaded into his Holon. Everyone had uploaded following this short exchange between them.

Another day of training was soon under way. To start things off, Hyun-Woo and Yaz started with hand-to-hand. Yaz started with a quick punch, which Hyun-Woo dodged easily. He then grabbed the arm, and used it to turn around to elbow the back of her head. Knocking Yaz off balance, he then went for a roundhouse kick. Yaz caught it, and used it to throw him off balance. Hyun-Woo quickly regained it, but not soon after Yaz landed a clean kick to his front. Hyun-Woo fell right on his back. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Yaz couldn't help but chuckle as she helped him up.

Then, it was Oliver and Kazu's turn. Oliver bounced around a bit before throwing a back kick. Kazu blocked it, and threw the kick off of him. He punched Oliver several times before prepping for a bigger punch. Oliver crossed his arms in front of him to block it, which he did. He briefly looked to the side, looking at the others. Strangely, Cammie was nowhere to be seen. He was puzzled, but that feeling didn't last as Kazu grabbed Oliver by his torso and threw the kid over his head. Oliver fell on the floor of the ring with a loud thud.

"_Pay attention, kid!_" Kazu chuckled, with Oliver groaning in response.

Later, Oliver decided to do some target practice. He was hitting the target relatively easily, but there were times where he was way off the mark. For some reason, he just couldn't concentrate. Eva and Valentina walked past behind him with their respective guns to practice as well. Oliver ignored them as he continued. But as he tried to focus, he heard bullseye beeps coming from Valentina and Eva. Eva was doing some flashy moves and still landing shot after shot.

"Well, guess your phantom thief persona really does follow you?" Valentina teased.

"Force of habit. I just feel like I have to do it, if you understand." Eva replied back.

The two chuckled amongst each other before resuming their target practice. Oliver growled quietly and tried to shoot properly, but combining his frustration and that reaction from Cammie earlier, he just couldn't focus. Aim-assist didn't help, thanks to Dr. Weller.

Oliver moved on to ordinance practice. With drones as his targets, Oliver did his best. He was able to clear the first wave of drones, so he was able to get a bit of a break. He looked around the hanger.

Eero, Charlotte, and Chase had moved to target practice, while everyone else was doing hand-to-hand. Cammie, however, was nowhere to be seen. Oliver was a little discouraged. He wanted to talk to Cammie if he got the chance, but how could he if she wasn't anywhere to be seen? Just as he was about to begin his next wave of drones, he quickly stopped to talk to Leon.

"Uh, excuse me?" He asked. "Have you seen Cammie?"

"Sorry kid, haven't seen her." Leon replied bluntly.

Oliver bit his lip internally and resumed his training. But the gut feeling he had from last night soon reached a fever point, where he just couldn't help but let it be a distraction now. He was starting to wane in his performance, which in the end, was enough to get hit, falling on his face. He sighed loudly, and just picked himself up.

He just slouched his Holon over to where the hand-to-hand rings, with Eero, Charlotte, and Chase, had just arrived to.

"You alright?" Charlotte asked. "It sounds like you're having a rough time."

Oliver didn't reply, but he did just haul his Holon over to the ring. Hyun-Woo, who just happened to be in the same ring, was just as confused.

"**What are you doing?**" He asked, watching Oliver getting into the ring.

Once again, Oliver didn't reply. He just got into a battle stance. But as he did, a small display popped on the right-hand corner of his HUD. It was Oliver's SMC (Self Modification Code), and the Aggression, Confidence, and Reflex Speed settings have been maxed out. But no one knew this yet. Hyun-Woo, thinking this as just another combat session, got into his stance.

Dr. Weller got a notification of it at his station. He was actually surprised. He never thought Oliver of all people would've resorted to modifying their code. The "Force restore default settings" option box popped up in response. His face hardening, he was about to press the "yes" option, but suddenly Cammie came into the lab.

"Sorry about that, doc." Cammie quickly apologized with a nervous laugh. "Guess I ate too much."

"Normally, I'd scold you, but your timing is impeccable Cammie." Dr. Weller greeted, not really listening to her apology. "Look."

Cammie looked at the screen that Dr. Weller pointed to. Her eyes widened at what she saw: Oliver and Hyun-Woo were going at it, with Oliver being uncharacteristically aggressive and rambunctious in his attacks. The screen then showed Oliver doing a handstand, landing a kick on Hyun-Woo's head, and then he kneed him in the face.

"It's just like when I…" Cammie muttered. "Wait. Wai-wai-wait, hold the fucking phone, why is Oliver doing this?"

Dr. Weller was about to answer that, but stopped himself. He took a quick glance back at the fight that was happening right now, and quickly composed himself.

"It'd be better if you got the answer from the young man himself." Dr. Weller replied, turning back to the screen.

Cammie bit her lip and wasted no time in jumping into her pod and uploading into her Holon. As she did, Dr. Weller got a call from Miranda. She sounded very concerned.

"Dr. Weller!" She shouted. "What are you waiting for? Pull him!"

Cammie almost burst out of her bay, startling the hanger bay engineers. She ran out as she saw what Oliver has gotten himself into.

Oliver was currently holding Hyun-Woo in a headlock and was choking him out. Yaz and Charlotte had just got into the ring to try and alleviate the situation, but Oliver quickly released Hyun-Woo and grabbed him by his arm. Oliver then swung the brown Holon around him before throwing him right into the other two Holons. The three Holons tumbled on the ground.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Leon shouted. "Fight's over!"

But Oliver wasn't listening. Chase, Eero and Kazu jumped in this time, but Oliver just ripped off one of the pipes from the ring and smacked it right across their faces. They fell on the ground, with Oliver now lifting the pipe over his head to deliver a deadly blow. Then, just as Eva and Valentina stepped in, he was tackled by another Holon out of the ring. He stumbled before getting back on his two feet. He was face to face with Cammie's green Holon, who had raised her arm to the side.

"Oliver, stop!" She said.

Oliver didn't reply, instead just readjusting his grip on the pipe. Then, he charged.

"Oliver!" Cammie shouted in a begging voice now. "Please!"

And just as Oliver got within Cammie's range, Dr. Weller pressed the force restoration option. Suddenly, Oliver's Holon shut down, dropping the pipe and stopping slowly. Cammie eased it by catching the deactivated Holon in her arms. She looked at the Holon worriedly too.

"Oliver…" She whispered quietly.

The other Holons slowly recovered, with Kazu actually saying that Oliver actually landed a really good hit. All of them went back into the hanger, with Eero giving Oliver's deactivated Holon a piggyback ride back. Once they were there, Eva and Charlotte helped the orange Holon get into its bay before getting back to their own. A brief focus on the Blue Holon on the other end of the hanger, now outfitted with the white Vanguard armor. This was Sinclair's Holon. It would appear they just put on the armor as they had just produced the parts anyway.

Once everyone had downloaded, they stepped out of their pods to see Oliver standing in front of them. Then, he bowed to everyone.

"I'm… so sorry!" He said in a strong voice.

Yaz just crossed her arms approvingly. Kazu and Valentina looked at each other before nodding. The other members of gen:LOCK Two walked up to their youngest member. Oliver stood up properly to see them. Hyun-Woo just smiled at him, while Charlotte patted his shoulder and Eero ruffled his hair. Eva just stood back, only giving him a thumbs-up. Cammie stayed in the back, just shyly rubbing her arm. After giving them a little moment to themselves, Dr. Weller spoke up.

"A distraction is not a slider setting, young man." He scolded in a polite way. "Your current state of mind, along with the settings you adjusted, almost created a near psychotic feedback loop."

"But, all's well that ends well." Dr. Weller smiled, clasping his hands together. "Now, get some rest, all of you."

Everyone from gen:LOCK had now gathered at in the mess hall. Kazu had made fresh dinner for them. Despite the food supply at the base being limited, he was able to make do. They ate the food quietly, but Yaz spoke first.

"Rewriting yourself…" She muttered, specifically for Oliver to hear. "Shameful."

Oliver looked up from his plate to Yaz, who looked very disappointed. Charlotte put a hand on the young man's back, trying to ease him.

"You shouldn't have to modify your code to ignore something." She said. "The rest of us have fought before; We can help."

Oliver bit his lip as he swallowed his first bunch of food. He breathed in, and then breathed out.

"It's not like that, Yaz." He explained. "What I did back there… it was a personal choice. Old issues came back up, so I had to distract myself from it."

Cammie's mechanical ears perked up at them mention of "old issues". But before she could speak, Eva spoke up.

"What do you mean, old issues?" She asked. "There's nothing you should be really concerning yourselves over."

"I…" Oliver stammered. "…don't want to talk about it. Can we change the subject, please?"

Chase and Yaz looked at each other briefly before doing so.

"So…" Chase started. "Anyone have any weird dreams lately?"

"**Funny you should mention that.**" Hyun-Woo said. "**I had a really weird one last night.**"

"Oh?" Valentina responded, sounding very interested suddenly. "Do tell us. What happened?"

Hyun-Woo was about to tell everyone about his dream, but suddenly Able's voice came through the speakers.

"Baker Squad, Charlie Squad, gen:LOCK One and gen:LOCK Two, report to the North Ready Room." He announced.

"Guess story time will have to wait." Chase sighed, mixing away.

With the announcement made, everyone from gen:LOCK began to leave the mess hall and move down the hall of the base. On their way though, Cammie tapped Oliver's shoulder.

"Hey, Oliver…" She muttered. "Could we… talk later?"

"Sure." Oliver replied, looking at her.

He only took a brief look at Cammie's face, but she looked very worried and concerned. Oliver knew something was up, so he stayed close to her all the way to the Ready Room.

Upon entry, everyone found Dr. Weller and Colonel Marin arguing. Chase was already there, just listening quietly. Leon and Able were off to the side, just listening in.

"I don't know about this." Dr. Weller sighed. "After two incidents, this feels too soon to deploy them."

"Either your team is functional or not!" Colonel Marin snapped. "Pick one! If they're not, let me know so I can transfer Chase back!"

"That was uncalled for." Dr. Weller shot back coldly, his face hardening.

Colonel Marin's face hardened back, not intimidated by Weller's intimidation.

"Then let's get started." She said coldly, going up to the podium.

Everyone quickly filed into the Ready Room. The gen:LOCK Candidates sat on the front row, with Cammie sitting next to Oliver. Chase, begrudgingly, sat in the air, since he didn't really need a seat. Once everyone had settled in, Colonel Marin began her briefing.

"Vanguard, you should be proud." She started. "You've run no less than eighteen sorties this month alone, rescued over four hundred civilians, defended against five unprovoked attacks… but we're going to shake things up a little with this next mission: We're going on the offensive."

Everyone muttered amongst themselves at the thought of finally being able to take the fight to the Union this time instead of responding to them. Once the murmurs died down, the Colonel continued. The screen behind her honed into the marker on the city of Atlanta.

"Intelligence has identified another window of significant satellite baffling over this sector, just at the edge of no-man's-land, about four hundred miles to our east." She briefed. "The Union really doesn't want us to see what's there, so we are absolutely going in. Before they were compromised, scout drones relayed images of an industrial complex. Layout and support facilities suggest manufacturing, perhaps even production of nanotech. Lieutenant?"

The Colonel backed up and let Leon take the floor.

"Like the Colonel said, we're going preemptive on this one. We'll slip in, wreck shop, and get out. Baker Squad and gen:LOCK will take out the air defense grid." He briefed. "Charlie Squad will move in for a quick look-see, confirm our intelligence. Then we take down the AA and paint the joint for an aerial strike."

"And get the hell out of dodge as fast as we can." Jodie added.

"That's an affirmative." Leon smiled.

"After having held the line for so long, we're finally going to cross it, deal some damage back." Colonel Marin said with positivity. "You leave at 04:30. Good luck, Vanguard. You can do this."

Once the briefing was over, everyone began to leave. Everyone got outside, going about their own business. The members of gen:LOCK Two walked off, with Oliver right on their tail.

Cammie, watching Oliver walk away, wanted to reach him, but she hesitated. She then felt a bump on her back. It was from Kazu, who had a very small smile on his face like a father.

"_Go. Talk to him._" He assured. "_You'll regret it you don't._"

Cammie looked at Kazu and then back at Oliver, who was talking to Hyun-Woo and Charlotte.

"Thanks, Kazu." Cammie finally said. "I needed that."

"_Just shut up and go, little rabbit._" Kazu chuckled, bumping her again.

Cammie shook her head and ran towards Oliver. Kazu crossed his arms as Valentina walked up beside him.

"So, you noticed it too?" She asked teasingly.

Kazu just chuckled as he just nodded quietly in response.

Cammie and Oliver got up to the observation deck of the Anvil. The view was large, as its view reached past the base and into the horizon. The sun had begun to set as Cammie leaned over the railing to breath in.

"I heard about this place from Chase." She said. "Says that's this is where he and Miranda always hang out when they wanted to get away from the hustle of the base and talk."

Oliver looked over to Cammie. She was sounding a lot of more positive. He lightened up and stood next to Cammie.

"So… what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

Cammie clasped her hands together. It was now or never. She breathed in, and then turned to Oliver.

"What the hell was that about?" She asked. "The modding of your code earlier?"

"Oh… that." Oliver muttered. "It's like I said: It was meant to be a distraction. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

Cammie turned to face Oliver. Her face seemed determined as she looked into Oliver's eyes.

"I've been in the same situation before." She explained. "Encountering with that "thing" … it was mental. Aye. You could let me know what's been bothering you."

"It wasn't that…" Oliver corrected. "My dream… it was of him… of taking you."

Cammie perked up when he said that. She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at Oliver. Oliver clasped his hands as he divulged everything to Cammie.

"The black mech… he managed to get away with your brain… and then killed me with a blink of an eye…" Oliver said, his voice breaking. "And all the while… as it took you away… I had to watch…"

"As that thing took you away, my legs refused to move…" Oliver continued. "It just made me wonder… that could've happened… if I got too scared to help-"

Oliver was stopped when Cammie suddenly embraced him. His train of thought stopped as he just felt Cammie's warmness. Cammie rubbed her face on his hair as Oliver reluctantly hugged her back.

"Stop…" Cammie whispered. "Just stop."

Then, slowly, Cammie pulled back. She then looked at Oliver with the kindest eyes he had ever seen.

"I had the exact same kind of dream when I encountered it." She said. "I tried to deal with it the same way you did and… well…"

"I'm just trying to tell how close you were to crossing a line that I almost did." Cammie said. "There's nothing you can do about it, other than move on from it."

Oliver looked away shyly. Cammie then smirked, and then crossed her arms.

"Besides, Valentina told me something very interesting the other day." She teased. "And Eva confirmed it."

Oliver blushed visibly. He figured it was a matter of time before she found out. But before he could say anything, Cammie jabbed Oliver's side playfully.

"That's for making me worry." Cammie said sharply.

Oliver rubbed his side gently. Cammie chuckled quietly before doing something Oliver never expected: Cammie grabbed him by his collar and kissed his cheek.

"That's for… everything else." Cammie sighed, blushing just as much Oliver is.

Oliver and Cammie stood there for a bit before laughing together. The two then looked at each other before Oliver spoke up.

"So… what are we now?" He asked.

Cammie giggled and playfully punched his arm again.

"We'll get to that later." She chuckled. "For now, let's crash."

"For you, that's a double." Oliver chided. "Charlotte's been noticing that you haven't been sleeping properly."

"Like you know how I sleep." Cammie retorted.

Then, the two went down from the observation deck. They quickly got down the stairs, eventually ending up in their bunks. Valentina and Eva both noticed that they are acting a lot more positive, even noting how they went to sleep with a smile.

Everyone had fallen asleep soundly, and was only awakened by the alarms. Cammie rubbed her eyes as she looked at the clock. It said 03:30. With the alarms now blaring, gen:LOCK One dragged themselves out of bed. After putting on their Body Suits, they began to make their way down to the hanger. On their way, they met up with gen:LOCK Two, who were just as groggy as they were. Cammie perked up though as she saw Oliver.

The nine gen:LOCK candidates eventually made their way down to the hanger, where they found their Holons lined up next to each other. They were also in front of a larger looking Hornbill, seemingly fresh off the assembly line.

As they walked up, they found Migas and Dr. Weller waiting for them.

"My apologies for being unavailable of late." Dr. Weller said. "But now, you can finally reap the benefits!"

"In addition to your new transport, my team's been working around the clock to prep Doc's new toys for you." Migas smiled.

"'Toys'?" Valentina and Eva both asked.

"Enhancements." Dr. Weller corrected. "In light of recent events, we have to up your game as quickly as possible."

Everyone looked up at their Holons. They just now noticed the new things their Holons had. Kazu and Hyun-Woo had sword on their hips, the only difference being that Kazu had two short swords, while Hyun-Woo had just one long katana. Valentina had a larger rifle and Eero had some sort of minigun on his back as well as having some kind of device on his left arm. Speaking of arms, Charlotte, Yaz, Oliver all had some kind of devices on both of their arms. Cammie and Eva had some kind of devices on their hips.

"I have modified a variety of hardware experiments for their very first field application." Dr. Weller continued. "So, I can't really guarantee perfect performance."

"Story of the ESU." Chase joked.

"But! They'll give you an edge." Dr. Weller finished. "Yaz, Eero, I've already briefed you. Everyone else, yours are pretty self-explanatory. You can learn in the field."

With that said, Dr. Weller led the others onboard the new Hornbill while Chase just stood there. He was a little disappointed.

"Really?" He asked. "Nothing?"

"Nothing from me." Dr. Weller smiled. "Migas already had that covered."

On that note, Dr. Weller led the others into the new Hornbill while Migas led Chase to his Holon.

"You just haven't been the same, man." He smiled.

Chase first looked at him, and then up at his Holon. He noticed that it now had Interceptor wings. And the wings are attached to a jetpack in the back.

"You were meant to fly, brother." Migas said in an announcer kind of voice.

Chase just looked at his Holon like a kid opening his presents.

"Dude… I mean…" He replied, lifting his arm for a hug. "You're gonna make me wish I could still cry."

Migas watched his arm phase through him. He just shook his head as he leaned in appropriately to fit in Chase's mix.

That moment didn't last long, as all of the Holons were loaded up into the new Hornbill. It took a few seconds for the Hornbill's engines to ignite, but it soon roared into life, flying away with two other Hornbills, containing the Strider squads, accompanied by Interceptor squadrons.

The sun had risen over the small industrial Union complex. A Union tank was patrolling outside its walls.

A spy was perched on a tree, taking notes and surveying the base. He just took off his goggles and was met by Valentina's Holon.

"Allow me." She said.

Valentina quickly propped her sniper up. She looked down the scope, noting everything she saw. Her HUD is now displayed through a screen, where everyone else was standing by.

"I have eyes on the facility." She said. "Small industrial complex, and I see the defense grid."

Leon brought up her HUD to his squad and the Holons. He rotated his shoulders, getting ready.

"Good, let's get this part started." He said, contacting the Anvil. "Anvil Control, tell airstrike to stand by. We'll give the clear as soon as they-"

"Wait." Valentina interrupted. "New guests joining the party."

As she said that, a Union armed vehicle rode down the road and stopped in front of the gates. Its back hatch opened, and two Union troopers stepped out of it. After they came out, they pulled out three prisoners, all wearing orange body suits. They were cuffed as well, even having collars on their necks.

"Who the hell are they?" Jodie asked.

"Civilians? Human shields?" Miranda suggested.

"Anvil Control, you getting this?" Leon quickly said.

"Already on it." Colonel Marin replied.

The technicians quickly got the facial scanners working, soon getting the identity of one of the prisoners.

_Name: Heng Li "Henry" Wu_

_Position: Lead Engineer, R-_

_Supervisor: Dr. Fatima Jha_

_Previous Assignment: Propu-_

Dr. Weller seemed to recognize the man, turning to the Colonel.

"Colonel…" He muttered.

"I know." Colonel Marin replied quickly.

Once the scan was complete, Colonel Marin sent the data they got over to the mission crew, who immediately began to form up a new plan.

"Polity scientists…?" Miranda repeated, thinking. "Well, this mission just got a lot more complicated."

"Yeah… who knows why they're here." Leon commented.

"Or what they're working on." Yaz added.

"So, what are we going to do?" Jodie asked. "We're on a time limit here. Are we not gonna blow this place to hell?"

"Eh, we're still going to do that." Leon assured.

Then, he looked over to Miranda. The two exchanged glances, eventually forming small smirks with each other. Jodie immediately recognized this, and doubled down on it.

"Oh, no!" He said. "No, no, no! Whenever you guys get like this, we end up doing something stupid!"

Meanwhile, the Union prisoners were being escorted into the facility, but they were trying to make light of the situation.

"I always wanted a lab with a view. Some peace and quiet, focus on my work." Henry commented, looking around the complex. "Never occurred to me to use barbed wire and armed guards. Nice touch."

"Henry!" One of the other prisoners snapped. "Would you shut up before they kill us all?"

"Oh please." Henry scoffed. "You think they kept us alive all this time, dragged us out here if they were just gonna-"

Henry was suddenly interrupted when a large rectangular tile flew just across their heads. The tile flew until it dug into one of the walls. A squad of Union troopers were sent to investigate it.

"Okay, I take it back." Henry replied quietly.

Then, the tile began to make a steady beeping noise. Guns at the ready, the Union troopers slowly got closer and closer as the beeping got faster. Then, the tile exploded, creating a large hole in the wall. In the ensuing smoke, Kazu charged in, yelling his signature battle cry. He grabbed a Union fighter and tossed it into the air, which Chase followed by shooting it out of the air.

"Wait, what?" Henry uttered, surprised by what he saw. "What are those? Seriously, what are those? What are the odds you'd actually go let me have a better look?"

The Union trooper guarding them never got the chance to reply, as he was kicked over the wall and into a tree by a giant metal foot. The three scientists looked up to see Cammie's Holon, with Miranda riding on her shoulder.

"Here you go pal. Look all you want." She said cockily.

She then had Miranda jump onto her hand and put her down on the ground. She quickly unlocked the doors for Miranda to acquire the armored vehicle from earlier and deactivated the cuffs and collars on the prisoners. Then, they had a few more minutes to look at the green Holon.

"Like what you see?" Cammie asked.

"I think I'm in love!" Henry replied, but quickly correcting himself. "Well, with your mecha anyway. Who are you guys?"

Just as he said that, a platoon of Union troopers came out of the building behind them and began firing on them. They could've been goners had Eero not swung in. He quickly set his left arm up, a large barrier shield going up, covering them and stopping the bullets.

"Introductions will have to wait, I'm afraid!" He called. "Shoot them down!"

Cammie nodded, and launched something from her side. A drone flew up above Eero's shield, taking aim at the Union troopers. Not even looking, Cammie pulled out her pistols and fired, landing all of them. Once the troopers were down, Eero retracted the shield. Miranda drove up with the armored vehicle to let the prisoners on board with the Striders going past them to take out any other threats.

"How come you can't shoot like that normally?" She asked as she let the prisoners on board.

"I think the Doc's got the drone aiming for me now." Cammie replied, with the drone nodding in response.

Once the prisoners were on board, the armored vehicle drove away with Eero and Cammie tailing behind it.

"Tempest is away!" Miranda called out.

The Striders were just cleaning up some other troopers, but they noticed that the armored vehicle with two Holons were leaving. Leon nodded to himself and then talked to the rest of the team.

"GL, let's wrap this up!" Leon ordered.

Yaz and Chase quickly made their way over to one of the defense towers. Yaz braced her arm, and then fired a long laser beam that lasted for a few seconds, but it did manage to take it out. The tower crashed in black smoke as Yaz quickly stepped back to let it happen.

"Ours is down!" Chase called.

Valentina, still perched by the trees, propped her rifle up again. She looked down the scope to see if she can help anyone.

Just as she did, Eva approached another defense tower. She reached to her side, which a device inside dispensed three rectangular tiles like the one from earlier. Before she did anything though, she quickly contacted Valentina.

"Say, Valentina." She said. "How good of a shot are you?"

"Excuse me?" Valentina replied, albeit being a little confused.

Eva responded when she drew those three tiles, and then nailed them on the side of the tower. Valentina, who had been looking down her scope, realized what Eva meant. She propped her rifle up and fired. The bullet met the tiles, which consumed the tower in a fiery explosion. Eva covered herself from that, but once it was over, she gave Valentina a on thumbs up.

A third tower was still up. Charlotte and Oliver were handling that one. Charlotte looked up at the tower. She swiped her arms to the side, which extended out two short knives. She spun around as she took small swipes on the bottom of the tower. Once she was done, she turned to Oliver.

"You're up, kid!" She called out.

Oliver was a little confused at what she meant, but then realized once he saw the weak looking supports on the bottom of the tower. Bracing himself, Oliver punched both arms forward, which launched two steel cables. The grapples on the end of the cables latched onto the tower. Then, standing his ground, Oliver pulled as hard as he could. The tower quivered and shook, but eventually, the tower fell to the ground, kicking up a lot of dust.

"Tower down!" Oliver called out.

Now there was only one tower left. Kazu sent himself to handle that one. He hacked and slashed through the minimal Union defenses around the tower. With a little boost from his boosters, he slashed the tower. He looked back, but the tower didn't seem to have any superficial damage to it.

Hyun-Woo swooped in just then. He drew his katana and jumped up as well. But, in contrast to Kazu's one slash, he managed to get three slashes in before landing beside Kazu. He then sheathed his sword back in. Slowly. As soon as the sheath hit the hilt, the tower shifted into four pieces, falling to the ground with thuds. Hyun-Woo stood up properly as Kazu was just stunned by what he saw.

"_Okay, you've got to teach me how you do that._" He said, looking at his own swords.

"**All in due time.**" Hyun-Woo chuckled, patting the red Holon's shoulder.

Leon now received words that the gen:LOCK have now taken out of the air defense towers. After cleaning just a few more troops, he contacted command.

"Anvil Control, Drifter. Angels are clear to target. Light it up." He said, pulling back with the other Striders.

"Dragonfly One, move in for Charlie pickup!" He called out.

As the Striders walked out, a Hornbill swooped in to pick up the Striders as all of the Holons rolled out to safety. Two Interceptors shot across the sky, with its pilots prepping their ordinance. They wasted no time in attacking, the industrial complex being consumed with fiery explosions, with several Union troops still inside.

Meanwhile, Cammie, Eero, and Miranda were being chased by eight Union tanks. There was a bit of a distance between them, but the tanks were slowly catching up. Miranda swerved back and forth to try and lose them, but the tanks just fired a flurry of missiles against them. Cammie hopped a bit to dodge them.

"Keep going." Eero called. "I'll do what I can!"

He reached to his back and extended out some kind of box, which extended out eight barrels in an octagonal shape. Eero then stopped and turned around. He unloaded an onslaught of bullets at the incoming tanks. Two of them were immediately destroyed, while another two tanks stopped to counter them. Four remaining tanks sped past him and towards Cammie and Miranda.

"Heads up!" Eero called. "Four more, coming your way!"

Cammie grabbed her pistol to shoot at them, but it didn't do much. One of the tanks leapt to pounce on her, but it was hit by a large sniper shot. She looked up to find Valentina with her rifle.

Behind her, Yaz, Charlotte, and Oliver ran down the hillside, jumping down to the road.

Meanwhile, Kazu, Hyun-Woo, and Chase were running down to help them as well. However, Chase had one thing the other two didn't. They stopped at a cliffside as Chase took to the skies, thanks to his wings.

Meanwhile, back with Cammie, she continued to repel the Union tanks, but one made it past her and landed two of its legs on her Holon. Miranda, still driving, grabbed a sticky grenade on the side and chucked it out. The grenade stuck to one of the tank's legs and exploded, knocking it off balance. Cammie was able to throw the tank's legs off of her, now finally getting some relief. Miranda, seeing the tank was still there, just grabbed the whole case of grenades and chucked it out the window. That was enough for the tank to be destroyed, getting knocked off the road and ending up in a ditch. The car and Cammie did lose their grip of the road for a bit, but they quickly regained.

But a squadron of the Union fighters swooped down from above, firing. Covering herself, Cammie did shoot back, but all of the shots missed. The fighters continued laying down fire until a laser shot up from below, destroying two of them. Out of the woods, Yaz quickly rolled out, using her lasers.

"Whoa!" Cammie exclaimed. "You get heat vision?"

"No, they're in my wrists!" Yaz called back, shooting some more drones.

"Huh." Cammie sighed. "It'd be cooler if they gave you heat vision."

Yaz rolled her eyes and just continued to shoot the remaining fighters. One remaining Union tank was sneaking up on Yaz, but Charlotte quickly pounced on it, crushing it with her knives. Then she heard something odd from Yaz. She listened in closely and then spoke to her

"Are you seriously going 'pew pew' under your breath right now?" She asked, just genuine confusion showing in her voice.

Yaz quickly reacted sharply, and began to stammer a bit.

"Don't worry, as long you're still focused on the mission." Charlotte joked.

Just as they said that, Miranda looked up front and slammed the brakes. The vehicle screeched to a halt as Miranda stared at what was before her. Cammie stopped just behind her as well, her eyes widening at what she saw.

In front of them, was the black mech. It just stood there, not moving. Its head twitched a bit before its one eye laid on Miranda.

"**M**_i_r-_**M**_i_r_**a**_**n**_d_a_." It said.

Miranda became wide-eyed, disturbed by the huge monster knowing her name. But as soon as it said that, Yaz jumped forward from the back and went for a kick. The black mech just grabbed her leg and chucked her behind him.

"What do I do?" Cammie asked as the black mech sprouted up a wall of purple nanotech around them all.

"Cammie, calm down." Valentina assured as she got to her sniping position.

The black mech ignored Cammie as it just used its four arms to go after Yaz. It leapt onto her, trying to crush her body. Cammie shot the black mech to grab its attention, but nothing.

"What do I do?" Cammie asked, panicking a bit.

"Can't… get a shot…!" Valentina said, trying to look.

"He's gonna take her!" Cammie yelled.

"Cammie, I can't see him!" Valentina said, finally closing her eyes.

Val and Cammie reached out to each other in the gL network, their hands making contact. The two felt a connection.

Meanwhile, Yaz finally got the black mech off of her, finally retaliating using her lasers. The mech took the lasers, but they didn't matter as the mech just ran through the lasers, grabbing Yaz's head and throwing her one more time. Yaz slid on the road, groaning as she picked herself up. She then saw Cammie put her pistol away as she looked at the black mech.

"Hey!" She called. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Mu'dak bl'yaad!"

"Russian?" Yaz questioned.

The black mech twitched and groaned as it walked slowly towards her.

"**Y**_o_u _t_h**i**_n_**k** t-t-t**o**_o_ **l**o_u_**d**… Y**o**_u_ h_**a**_v**e**_n_'**t** s_**h**_**u**t _u_**p** _s_**i**n_**c**_e **y**_o_ur **b**i_r_-_r_-_r_**t**_h_d**a**_y_…!" It groaned as it began to run at her on all of its appendages.

Cammie pulled her hand up in a gun like pose and then pulled back. That was immediately followed by a sniper shot from afar, knocking the mech out of the way and into the curb. Cammie, finally regaining herself, looked up behind her, noticing Valentina with her smoking sniper rifle. The black mech twitched again before raising all of its limbs to slam down Cammie.

Charlotte rolled into bump the mech aside, but it didn't do anything. The mech just growled again and charged one more time.

Chase flew down at the speed of a missile. Barreling past the nanotech barrier, he tackled the black mech down the road. He quickly swung back around for a punch, but the black mech caught the punch and threw it aside. Chase went for another tackle, but the black mech just grabbed his head and threw him off. Chase tumbled a bit before the black mech spoke again.

"**L**_e_t **t**_**h**__e_ _g_**o**o-_g_**o**o-_g_**o**_o_d **t**_i_m_**e**_s _**r**_-_**r**_-_**r**_ol**l**…" It said.

Chase perked up at hearing his catchphrase, but he didn't have time to dawdle, as the black mech marched toward him again, muttering a weird phrase.

"_C_o**p**y… **k**-**k**-**k**_i_**l**l…" It said. "K**i**_l_l **c**_o_-**c**_o_-**c**_o_-**c**_o_p_**y**_…!"

Then, he stopped when an explosion landed on his back. The mech's head twitched one more time as he looked behind him.

Eero stood there with his minigun, its larger barrel which the other eight barrels surrounded was smoking. Then, Kazu launched himself and tackled the black mech. Hyun-Woo used this chance to jump up to land a slash, but the mech caught the blade and grabbed Hyun-Woo's head. Hyun-Woo kicked the mech off of him, and jumped around the back of the mech. Using his sword, he impaled one of the arms using his sword. Kazu, in response, grabbed hold of the other arm. With Cammie's drone hovering, Valentina still had eyes on the fight. She continued to shoot, but the mech didn't have any impact. Eva ran up to where Yaz, Cammie, and Charlotte were recovering. She saw what was going on, so she quickly drew another tile from her side. With a bit of card play on her fingers, she threw the card. The card landed right on the mech's temple, giving Valentina a clear target. She landed a clean hit, which prompted the mech to lurch forward. But in doing so, it allowed its rear arms to get torn off.

Just then, a Union airship arrived with a rope attached. The black mech threw the Holons off of itself as it ran up to grab hold of the rope. Eva grabbed her heavy pistol and shot the mech. The mech dodged most of the shots, but then felt something attach its leg. It looked down to find Oliver trying to pull him back. The mech shook the cables off its legs, with Oliver stumbling forward.

Chase quickly walked up to Oliver and helped him up as the black mech and he exchanged one more look at each other before the two were out of their range.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After the rescue mission in Atlanta, everyone was on their way back to the Anvil. Chase had just returned from talking to the Strider pilots, who were not all too pleased about the revelation about gen:LOCK's mystery mech.

He looked around the whole Hornbill to see how everyone was handling things. Oliver and Cammie were sitting silently in a corner, while Yaz and Valentina were just talking amongst themselves. Eero, and Kazu were talking to Colonel Marin back at the Anvil.

As he looked around, Eva approached him. She had a rather stern look on her face.

"Okay, monsieur." She said. "You have some explaining to do."

"What, about our mystery mech?" Chase asked. "Look, I know things are kind of coming at as pretty hard, but-"

"You're dodging my question." Eva interrupted. "That thing… it said your catchphrase."

"What do you want me to say, huh?" Chase asked, getting defensive. "Look, I'll get to the bottom of this when we get back."

"I hope so." Eva pleaded. "Because you're not really giving me a good reason to not cut your life support right now."

With that somber note, Eva walked off to talk with the rest of her team. Chase just stood there and stayed silent. Yaz looked back at him very concerned, but quickly went back to her own business.

The Hornbills quickly arrived at the Anvil, where they landed on their respective landing pads. The gen:LOCK crew departed from theirs, looking forward to some rest. Cammie yawned as Oliver stretched his arms. Everyone else just walked on into the base.

As Caliban unloaded Chase's tank, Chase began to think. Yaz had just finished talking to one of the workers on the airfield, and turned to Chase to see what was up.

"You okay?" She asked.

"The whole time." Chase said, after some thinking. "What if he's been lying to us the whole time?"

"Chase. Please." Yaz responded. "You and I owe Dr. Weller so much. Give him at least the benefit of the doubt."

Chase closed his eyes and breathed in. He then made up his mind.

"Able, where's Dr. Weller?" He asked. "I need to talk with him."

"Dr. Weller is currently on the Eastern Observation Deck." Able's voice replied.

Chase nodded and quickly mixed away to meet Dr. Weller up top. Yaz saw him off before meeting up with the rest of the gen:LOCK members.

Cammie and Oliver continued their way into the base but stopped. The two stopped and waved at someone. A few feet away, Henry, along with the other prisoners they had saved board a Razor to depart somewhere.

"Where do you think they're goin'?" Cammie asked.

"Debrief, presumably." Valentina answered. "Then wherever home is for them."

"Hey, GL." Leon's voiced called.

Everyone saw the grizzled Strider pilot walking towards them, with Jodie and Miranda behind him.

"We're gonna do a review." He said. "Dissect your mission performance."

"Cut us a break, would ya?" Charlotte sighed, crossing her arms.

"_What's everybody's deal?_" Kazu said. "_We actually won a battle. We should raise a glass._"

"What do you want a party?" Leon shot back, his eyes hardening and getting into Kazu's face. "Is that how the world works? You finish a mission, someone hangs a banner with your names on it, and throw a little confetti?"

"Just be in the North Common in an hour." Leon said, bumping Kazu out of the way.

All of the gen:LOCK members looked at the Strider pilots going off. They were a bit confused but at the same time slightly ticked off.

"**I know he means well…**" Hyun-Woo said. "**But does he have to be a hardass about it?**"

"You think he's bad now?" Valentina teased. "Just wait until our debrief."

With that note, everyone just went into the base, looking forward to some rest.

Meanwhile, Dr. Weller was standing over the railing on the Eastern Observation deck. He seemed rather absent to his surroundings when Chase mixed in behind him. He walked toward him as Dr. Weller began to speak.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?" He asked.

"Only every day since New York." Chase replied. After a brief pause, he said, "I figured out why the Colonel made me that offer."

"Pardon?" Dr. Weller responded.

"To transfer me back to the Vanguard, and why you started crunching on the new toys." Chase explained. "Both of you knew what this thing might be, and neither one of you told us what was up."

"Better not to raise alarm until we knew for certain." Dr. Weller answered bluntly.

"Better for who?" Chase asked, getting harsher in his tone. "It's GL tech, isn't it?"

"…yes." Dr. Weller replied with a slight sense of regret in his voice. "At its core is… likely one of our brains."

"You're really making me do this?" Chase said, finally showing his anger. "Who's running on it, Doc!?"

Dr. Weller clasped his hands together, and sighed. It was time he told Chase the truth.

"There is a very good chance that it is you in there, Julian." He said. "Well, at least another instance of you. Your… nemesis, to put it simply."

"But… you said you couldn't make copies." Chase stated.

"I said I _wasn't _making copies. I never said I couldn't… or didn't." Dr. Weller sighed.

He then adjusted his position, and then told Chase the entire story.

"We started backing you up the instant the gen:LOCK initiative began…" He began.

Dr. Weller told everything to Chase. From the day the Vanguard were able to rescue him from his crash site. He explained how Chase hung on to life as hard as he could while the gen:LOCK program began around him. Once he was eligible for field operation, he began to finally turn the war around the Vanguard. And every time Chase uploaded, the crew shunted a copy into another Cyber-Brain. But one mission. That is when everything went wrong. The Union were prepared, having dedicated an entire garrison of its troops into capturing him. He disappeared. When the dust settled, they just restored Chase with the copy, and made him back whole again.

"The practice of copying ended, and the gen:LOCK program continued." Dr. Weller concluded.

Chase was wide-eyed. He seemed to be aware of everything that had happened, but didn't seem to know the details of it all. He quickly shook his head to get his attention back.

"But… you told me that mission was scrubbed." He said.

"That we'd had a malfunction and the system was offline for a couple of hours before we could restore you." Dr. Weller replied.

"You lied." Chase finally said.

Dr. Weller stood up straight and faced Chase dead in the eyes.

"Yes." He replied. "I lied."

The two were tense for a few seconds. There were several glares and hostile faces at each other before the atmosphere was cut by a loud alarm from the base.

"All crews, defensive battle stations." Able's voice echoed. "All crews, defensive battle station. This is not a drill."

"What is that?" Dr. Weller asked before looking out to the distance.

There was a loud whooshing sound from afar as a Union Behemoth decloaked only a few miles away from the Anvil.

"Karma." Chase commented as he mixed away.

Dr. Weller wanted to say something, but Chase had already disappeared. He bit his lip and made his way down to the command center.

As the alarms blared throughout the entire base, all maintenance workers and mechanics ran into the hangers. Once everyone was inside, all turrets of the base activated, pointing their barrels towards the Union Behemoth.

"Union Behemoth has dropped quantum cloak." An officer said. "Distance, two clicks."

"Scramble alert fighters." Colonel Marin ordered. "Ground companies to follow plan Alpha."

"Colonel, Union is broadcasting in the clear." A comms officer called. "They're including a Vanguard ID code."

"Continue deploying defenses." Colonel Marin said, ignoring the callout.

"Ma'am, the code is Lieutenant Chase's." The comms officer said.

Silence immediately consumed the command center. With that callout, they knew they couldn't keep this a secret any longer. With no other choice, Colonel Marin gave in.

"Start the channel." She said.

The comms officer did so, bringing up the screen in front of the command center. It first showed the large Union Behemoth walking towards them, but then it panned down to show the Union's mystery mech, which the screen codenamed as "Nemesis." It walked beastly until it stopped. The Behemoth continued walking though, but it slowed down enough for Nemesis to speak.

"**C**-**c**-**c**_o_l_**o**_**n**_e_**l**." It said. "**H**_e_-**h**_e_l**l**o. **G**-**g**-**g**-**g**_o_o_**d**_b**y**_e_."

"Who am I addressing?" Colonel Marin asked carefully.

"W-w-w_h_**o** _w_**o****u**_l_**d** y_o_**u** _l_-_l_**i**k_**e**_ _i_**t** **t**_o_ b**e**?" Nemesis back with something akin to a chuckle.

Dr. Weller just shook his head as he saw Nemesis's speech and behavior.

"Oh, Chase. What did they do to you…?" He whispered.

Nemesis twitched and made a motion to seem like it was holding its head.

"_W_-_w_-_w_**h**y _**a**_m I _s_**t**_i_ll **h**_e_r_**e**_?" It spluttered. "W-w_h_**y** **d**_o_ _I_-_I_-_I_ **k**e_e__**p**_ **h**_e_a_**r**_i**n**_g_ **n**_e_w **v**_o__i_**c**e_s_ _i_**n** m_**y**_ _h_**e**a_**d**_?"

Dr. Weller stepped forward to speak while Colonel Marin stepped back to talk to Able.

"Status of the Hammer System?" She asked.

"Stage three test fire can be available in approximately 10 minutes." Able replied.

"Proceed." Colonel Marin replied, turning back to the screen.

Dr. Weller did his best to explain the circumstances to Nemesis, but he wasn't doing so good.

"You have to know we tried to find you." He said.

"Y**o**_u_ _l_-_l_-_l_ost **y**o_**u**_-_**u**_-_**u**_-_**u**__r_ c_h_**a**_n_**c**_e_." Nemesis responded. "A**n**_d_ _**n**_**o**_w_, _t_h**e**_**r**_e's n**o** **c**_h_o_**i**_ce… **k**-**k**-_i_ll t_h_**e** _c_-_c_-_c_**o**_**p**_y."

"There's always a choice." Dr. Weller continued. "Whatever they've said to you, done to you-"

"_**K**_-_**k**_-_**k**__i_**ll** t**h**_e_ **c**-**c**_o_-**c**_o_p_**y**_." Nemesis interrupted.

"Julian." Dr. Weller begged. "Please. Return to us. I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you."

Nemesis paused for a moment but then twitched one more time before continuing.

"Y-y-y_o_u **c**_a_n'_t_… _fi_**x** m_e_-m_e_-m_e_…" It said in almost an echoey voice. "**W**_a_n_**t**_ o_u_**t**…. _T_**h****e**-_t_**h**e U_**n**__i_**o**n…"

"Julian, they cannot promise you a return to your body." Dr. Weller stated. "IT will not work that way. But… maybe… maybe we can find an alternative."

"W-w-**a**_**n**__t_ **o**u_t_." Nemesis said. "_H_**e**-_h_**e**-_h_**e**ll_**o**_? G-**g**-**g**_o_o_d_**b**_y_e-"

Before Nemesis could continue speaking, Chase's teal Holon kicked it into the ground.

"Chase!" Dr. Weller called, quickly running down to his lab.

Nemesis shook its head as Chase looked down at it with all the confidence in the world.

"Oh, you want out?" He taunted. "I can help with that."

"_K_-_k_-**i**ll **t**_h_e **c**_o_-**c**_o_-**c**_o_-**c**_o_p_**y**_!" Nemesis hollered as it began to swing its arms madly at Chase.

Chase did no effort in dodging its attacks and began to fight back. Meanwhile, the Union Behemoth began unloading a legion of tanks from its body. Beside it, where also squadron of dropships that unloaded fighters and troopers down to the ground. In response, all of the Anvil's turrets and defenses began firing down on the Union forces.

Meanwhile, back inside the Anvil, the other gen:LOCK members just entered the lab after hearing the alarms. Caliban was busying working on the computers as they arrived.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Yaz called. "Doctor?"

"Look!" Cammie said, pointing at one of the screens.

Everyone looked to the screen that Cammie pointed to, where it showed Chase fighting Nemesis alone. Not only that, it also showed a fleet of Union forces coming down behind them.

"Bozhe moi…" Valentina sighed.

"Into the pods, now!" Yaz ordered.

As ordered, all of the candidates took off the clothes they had over their Body Suits and jumped into their pods. Once they had, they all uploaded into their Holons, which all awoke in the hanger.

"As soon as we're up on the other side, hook right." Leon said, prepping his Strider. "We gotta make it zone three, fast as possible. Get ready to run."

Everyone acknowledged him and began to move out. All of the Striders got onto a platform which lowered into an underground deployment method. Kazu and Eero were next, with Kazu standing on one of the platforms and Eero standing on a platform behind Kazu.

"Get down! Watch your head!" An engineer called, motioning a crouching motion.

Kazu and Eero both crouched down, as the platforms lowered and began to move down to tunnels below. Once they were down, the platform carried them down the tunnel. The two Holons braced themselves as they got closer and closer outside.

The deployment zone opened, where Kazu and Eero were finally able to stand. Eero quickly grabbed his minigun from his back as he looked out. As the red and black Holon looked out to the battlefield, everyone else quickly followed suit. Hyun-Woo and Yaz came up, followed by Valentina, Charlotte, and Eva, and Oliver and Cammie were the last ones up. They looked at what laid before them. An entire battlefield littered with Union forces that have already began to make their way into the base. The Vanguard forces began to push them back, but there were still too many for them. One tank even took the chance to fire at the Holons.

"Move!" Yaz called.

All nine Holons jumped clear of the blast, down the hill, and towards the battle.

Charlotte pounced on a Union tank, stabbing the body with her knives. Hyun-Woo and Yaz grabbed one while Kazu and Eero both punched it away. Cammie slid down the battle firing her pistols. A Union Fighter swooped down from above down to her but Oliver shot his cables at it, throwing it into a squad of tanks. Eva threw a set of cards towards some Union tanks. A few seconds passed before they all exploded. Valentina quickly got up on a high position to begin sniping. Eero and Yaz led the Striders into the battle, with the other Holons jumping around into the battle.

As they fought, the Vanguard began to send everything into the battlefield. A squadron of Razors and Interceptors flew out of the base and laid down suppressive fire. Chase flew up beside the Interceptors to take care of the squadrons of Union fighters that seemed to be all over the entire field. Nemesis just looked up as Chase shot down most fighters that came his way. Two Interceptors flew down towards it with missiles, but the Behemoth shot the missiles out of the air. The smoke allowed Chase to tackle Nemesis into the ground. Once he recovered, he began to shoot at it, but it quickly retaliated by dodging all of the bullets and beginning to swipe and punch at Chase.

Meanwhile, all of the Striders began to take a bigger stand in the battle. Miranda got on top of a dead Union tank and spun around firing everything in her arsenal. She stopped to take a breath, but in doing so, she saw Hyun-Woo's Holon jumping over her and continuing the battle. With armored cars running alongside him, Hyun-Woo hacked and slashed through the battle. All of the tanks and fighters were destroyed on contact, burning to the ground as they fell. Jodie quickly shot a squad of ground troopers while a tank crept up on him. But Leon had his back by shooting it away from him.

Kazu was continuing to attack the Union forces, even losing the armor on his lower left arm. He smashed a tank with his arms as other tanks began to fire on him.

"Kazu, check you six!" Valentina called.

"_What? My six?_" Kazu asked, paying more attention to the tanks around.

"Kazu, let me join you!" Valentina called again.

"_I got this!_" Kazu shouted back, jumping onto a Union fighter.

He smashed it into the ground, and turned around to see who was next, but then a squad of tanks arrived. They all launched their grapples onto him, with one even jumping on his back.

"Kazu!" Valentina shouted.

She closed her eyes as Kazu continued resisting the tank.

In the mindscape, Val flew down to meet Kazu's limp body. She helped him lift his swords, and then the two began to dance and slash their way through the Union forces. Doing some fancy feet work, Kazu, with Val's help, was able to destroy all of the Union tanks around him. Valentina woke up and waved to Kazu.

Meanwhile, some Vanguard troopers were escaping from a crashed Razor. A Union tank and fighters were closing in on them, but Eero arrived just in time to cover the men's escape. He put up his Barrier Shield to cover the men's escape as a car arrived to take them away. Eero continued to cover their escape, but he was getting overwhelmed. He quickly retracted his Barrier, but at the same time, all of the tanks unloaded their guns onto him. He unleashed his minigun on the Union forces, but he just couldn't keep up with his surroundings.

"Uh… a little help please?" He called, still firing.

As he said that, Charlotte jumped in and pounced onto one of the tanks in front of Eero. She then rolled to the side and cut a leg of a tank and stopped near Eero.

"You called?" She asked. "Let's take them out together!"

In the mindscape, Charlotte grabbed Eero's hand. Then, suddenly the two Holons shared the look in their eyes and then began to attack the Union forces that came towards them. Eero's minigun began firing in a cone shape while Charlotte retracted one of her knives while retracting a machine pistol from her arm. Eero stopped firing for a few seconds to let his minigun cool, but Charlotte jumped over him and landed on the minigun. Eero then launched Charlotte into the air. She then dove forward, firing her machine pistol. She took out a line of tanks behind them, and then she turned around with her pistol out. Eero prepped his minigun, and then two fired on the Union, catching them in a sandwiched rain of bullets. Once all of the Union forces were destroyed, the two exchanged glances of approval, and then departed further into the battle.

Cammie and Oliver were fighting as well, but somehow, they ended up back to back with each other.

"Oh, hi there." Oliver chuckled.

"Back at ya." Cammie replied.

They looked in front of them, and they saw an army of Union tanks walking towards them, all with the intent of shooting them down. The two braced themselves as the tanks continued their approach.

"Hey." Cammie suddenly said. "This might not be the time to bring it up… but do you remember what you said yesterday?"

"Hm? Oh right." Oliver muttered. "Y'know, I actually don't remember much from that conversation."

In the mindscape, Cammie and Oliver were back to back as well. Cammie quickly turned around and flipped Oliver around so that the two were facing each other now. She then cupped his face with her hands.

"I do." She said with a cheeky smile.

She then kissed Oliver on the lips. That triggered something with their Holons, as Oliver readied his cables, and Cammie grabbed hold of them. She then spun around as fast as she could, swinging Oliver around in a circle. The two yelled as they spun around faster and faster. The Union tanks didn't know how to respond as they were destroyed by Oliver's kicking motion. Once all of the tanks were destroyed, the two stopped spinning and sat on the ground for a few minutes.

"Ugh…" Oliver groaned. "Oh, I'm gonna be sick…"

Cammie just laughed and helped Oliver up. Then the two continued into battle together.

Meanwhile, Yaz and Chase had been fighting near each other. Yaz had been taking out Union tanks while Chase was still trying to fight Nemesis.

"Chase!" Yaz called. "We should try fighting them together!"

"What's stopping you?" Chase asked.

In the mindscape, Yaz extended a hand to Chase, who was still busy fighting Nemesis.

"No, I mean, really! Together!" She said.

"Let's not do this now!" Chase retorted almost immediately.

Yaz reluctantly retreated back into their Holon, where she tore off a tank's gun and fired on another with her lasers.

As the battle raged on, the Behemoth launched several crafts towards the Anvil. The crafts were small, but big enough to house people inside. Once they had reached the walls, the crafts attached themselves to the side and began to dig into the wall.

"Intruder alert." Able said. "Exterior breaches on levels 20 through 25."

"Security, repel the intruders!" Colonel Marin ordered. "Seal all blast doors!"

As the crafts finished digging up the hole in the Anvil, one drone hovered out of each hole, followed by a platoon of Union troopers. Vanguard security arrived to deal with them, but they were immediately gunned down by the drones.

Hearing this commotion, Dr. Weller and Caliban were running back and forth in the lab, preparing for a quick escape. Dr. Weller even grabbed a small device of some kind as he worked. He turned to a screen to see Union troopers scuttling away in the hallways. One of them even shot out the camera which was connected to the screen he was watching. Soon after, Colonel Marin called him.

"Weller, we're breached!" She said. "Their main contingent is headed your way!"

"We shouldn't be a burden much longer!" Dr. Weller replied, continuing to work. "I'd like to request an extended use of our Holon transport!"

"Understood. Let us know when you're on the move." Colonel Marin said, disconnecting the call.

Once the call was disconnected, he then contacted the Holons.

"gen:LOCK Team!" He called. "Get your Holons back to your transport and prepare for download!"

Back outside, everyone was still fighting. They got the message but were rather confused.

"Quoi, doctor?" Eva asked, kicking a Union fighter out of the way. "We're nowhere near uptime!"

"You're in danger. Do you hear?" Dr. Weller said.

"_We know we're in danger!_" Kazu retorted, stabbing a tank with his two swords.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Yaz asked

"**Why are we retreating?**" Hyun-Woo asked, asked, slashing through several tanks.

"Now, Yasamin!" Dr. Weller replied in a very short-tempered manner. "There are enemies in the base; Your bodies are in danger!"

All of the Holons became wide-eyed when he said that. They had to get back to their bodies. In agreement, all of the Holons began to run back to the base. They still took out any Union forces that were in the way, but they got too overzealous. Oliver was on his way back, but he suddenly tripped. Two Union tanks took advantage of this, launching their cables at him and beginning to drag him away. Cammie saw this but couldn't get to him

"Oliver!" Cammie shouted.

"H-h-help!" Oliver cried, trying to stop himself.

Valentina rushed in to save him. She grabbed one of Kazu's swords and cut the cables away and 360-no-scoped the Union tanks.

"He said run, mal'chik!" She said, picking up the orange Holon.

The two ran back to the other Holons, who provided cover for them as the caught up. Yaz then noticed that they were missing someone.

"Chase!" She called. "Fall back!"

Chase, who was still fighting Nemesis, ignored her and continuing fighting the black Holon.

"He doesn't mean me." He said.

"Chase!" Yaz called back.

"My body can't run, Yaz!" Chase said, continuing to fight Nemesis.

Yaz, with all of the other Holons, had no choice but to continue back to their Hornbill, taking out any Union forces along the way. But they eventually reached their transport, where they quickly loaded up their Holons and downloaded back into their bodies. All the while Chase kept on fighting Nemesis, keeping off his teammate's tails.

Back inside, a Union drone hovered just outside the lab, and it watched Dr. Weller running from screen to screen. The drone surveyed and recorded everything he was doing, but was immediately destroyed by Caliban.

"Are the Holons secure?" He asked.

"We're loaded up." Yaz replied, stepping out of her pod.

Everyone else quickly stepped out of their pods one by one and began to grab their clothes and other stuff.

"What the hell's happening?" Cammie asked.

"No time! They're coming for you!" Dr. Weller warned. "Get ready to run! Kazu that seems about your speed, take it! Valentina, energy rifle there!"

Everyone came out of their pods and began to put on their clothes over their Body Suits. Kazu and Valentina grabbed their stuff that Dr. Weller pointed them to. Hyun-Woo grabbed his katana that he stored on the side of his pod. Everyone grabbed their respective belongings as they prepped to run. Yaz was more concerned for Dr. Weller though.

"Doctor?" She asked.

"Time to fly, little bird." Dr. Weller whispered, kissing her forehead. "Look after your teammates."

"Y-you're coming with us, yes?" Yaz asked again.

"I'll join you when I can." Dr. Weller answered, turning away.

He then turned to Caliban, who was prepping Chase's tank for transport. The robot turned to the doctor.

"Caliban." Dr. Weller ordered. "You do not leave their side."

Then, quietly he added, "Omega protocols apply. Acknowledge?"

Caliban blinked a pair of green lights from his eyes, afterwards finishing loading up Chase's tank onto a cart. Once everyone was ready, they waited by the doors of the lab. Kazu finished putting on his jacket, but then he noticed something was missing. He quickly went back in and grabbed his guitar.

"Are you serious?" Oliver sighed.

"You'll hear from me once you're away!" Dr. Weller said. "Go! Take that lift!"

All of the gen:LOCK members started to walk towards the lift. As they left, doors on the other end of the hall opened, revealing a platoon of Union troops. They wasted no time in firing at them. Yaz fired back a bit with her pistol while Hyun-Woo only deflected the bullets. Two troopers died as the gen:LOCK crew made it to the lift. The Union troops tried to get to the lift, but the doors closed before the could reach it.

"I recommend you back away from the lift!" Dr. Weller called out, with a hand behind his back. "You won't be following them, I assure you."

The platoon quickly changed their objectives and quickly secured Dr. Weller. They even clubbed his back to get him on his knees.

"I assume you're here for the gen:LOCK technology?" He grunted as he was picked up back on his feet. "Well, you can't have my kids. But I have something new right here."

He revealed some kind of cylindrical device, with a central button in the middle. He pressed it and the device began to beep

"Takei it." He said. "With my compliments."

Then, the device projected a green bubble that enveloped the entire lab with everyone inside. A few more seconds passed until an explosion took place inside the lab, taking everyone inside. The gen:LOCK crew felt the explosion from in the lift.

"No… no, no…!" Yaz muttered.

Cammie quickly went over to the controls and opened the doors. But the doors only opened slightly. Eero and Caliban grabbed each door and forced them open. Kazu peeked out to see where they were.

"_Is this the barracks?_" He asked.

"It's close enough." Charlotte responded. "We'll cut across here to the main hanger."

Everyone began moving down the hall. Yaz covered their rear, seeing an explosion in the corner of the lift.

"Cammie, how many?" She asked.

"Enough to fuck us!" Cammie called back.

A couple of Vanguard soldiers were firing back, but were shot down almost immediately. The gen:LOCK members continued running, but Eva quickly saw a room they could hide in.

"Personnes!" She called. "In here, quickly!"

Everyone quickly stopped and turned around to enter the room.

"Hurry!" Eva insisted.

Once everyone was inside, Eva threw down a card, which stood up, pierced into the floor. The card opened up and projected a door to cover their entrance. The Union troops just walked on by, ignoring them all.

"What was that?" Valentina asked.

"I used one of my cloaking cards." Eva explained. "It was big a risk, given that I only…"

Eva trailed off as she looked into the room they were in. Everyone else also looked in, and saw what was inside.

There was a table with a bunch of food. There was punch bowl, a big sponge cake, cans of beer, a nacho plate and some dip. There were even confetti falling down with balloons and everything with a banner with their names on it. The banner said "Congrats gL" and "Callsign Ceremony".

And beneath Callsign Ceremony banner, there were their names listed with their respective codenames. Valentina Wraith, Yaz Huma, Chase Chaser, Cammie Trixx, Kazu Shogun, Eva Phantom, Hyun-Woo Warrior, Charlotte Siren, Oliver Racer, and Eero Crusader.

"_Ah man, so this was Leon's 'debrief'._" Kazu sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "_Well, now I just feel terrible._"

"You'll thank him if we get through this!" Valentina called. "Let's go!"

Valentina stepped outside of the holographic door and checked to see if they could attack. She gave the others the signal, and everyone began moving out. Caliban charged with Chase's tank and rammed into a trooper. Yaz fired a few shots and then jumped off a wall to land a right hook on to a soldier. Kazu blocked the other bullets with his armor and then punched two troopers. He then got up behind another and suplexed him. Charlotte pulled out a knife from her elbow and got up to two troopers. She punched one of them on his side and then stabbed him right in the side of his neck. Charlotte quickly switched hand, now sweeping another trooper off his feet. She then jabbed the knife into his neck one more time. Eero dodged the gun fire and got in between two soldiers. He bashed their heads together and then they fell. He quickly saw one coming up behind him, so he acted fast. He spun around behind him and then kicked his knees in. The trooper fell forward and then Eero slammed his feet down on the soldier's face. Eva rolled aside and threw three calling cards at a trooper. The cards impaled into his armor, and then exploded. Cammie quickly grabbed Nugget from her pocket and chucked hi at a soldier. She punched the same soldier twice, and then threw him aside, towards Oliver. Oliver caught him, punched his neck and then tossed him to the floor. Nugget jumped on Oliver's head once that was done. Cammie was somewhat impressed but she couldn't focus on that as more troops arrived.

"Behind us!" She called.

Valentina quickly pulled up her rifle and shot all three troopers that were running up to them. She felt three more troopers coming towards them, but as she turned around to face them, all of them grunted and then plopped to the ground with large gashes on their back. Hyun-Woo quickly twirled his katana before sheathing it back in.

"**Let's move.**" He said. "**Hurry, come on!**"

All of the gen:LOCK members ran into the lift on the other side of the hall, and went down to the hangers.

Back in the command center, the Vanguard were still going on the offensive, but they were starting to lose ground.

"Forward forces taking heavy losses. Multiple security breaches throughout the base." An ops officer reported. "Ma'am, reports of an explosion from upper computer core."

Colonel Marin thought about that for a moment, the only person down there was Dr. Weller, and if there was an explosion…

"Able!" She said, taking her mind off it. "Hammer status!"

"Working. Please stand by." Able quickly responded.

Back in the hanger, a couple Striders walked in for repairs. All mechanics and engineers ran back and forth bringing tools and parts. Migas oversaw everything, helping everyone. Just then, all of the members of gen:LOCK rushed into the hanger. Migas was surprised to see them.

"What are you guys doing back here?" He asked.

"Migas! We need a lift to our transport." Yaz requested. "You're all in danger if we stay."

Migas paused, and then looked at a car and a transport truck. They had just been repaired, so they should be their ticket. With nothing else in mind, he quickly gestured over to them.

"Vamonos." He said.

The hanger doors swung open, and the car and truck rolled out. Migas drove the car with Valentina manning the turret, and Cammie and Yaz riding inside. Behind them in the truck, was Kazu driving. Charlotte, Hyun-Woo, Oliver and Eva were riding with him inside, while Eero and Caliban rode in the cargo bay with Chase's tank.

As they drove on, they drove by Nemesis and Chase's fight. They were wailing on each other, with Chase's Holon looking very damaged. The two actually stopped fighting for a second to watch Chase's tank driving away from them. Nemesis shoved Chase off of him and then ran after the car. It leapt for a good few seconds before Striders came up, surrounding it with guns firing. Chase even jumped in hitting it with a piece of debris. Nemesis retaliated by grabbing a Strider and just tossing it aside.

The car and the truck eventually reached their Hornbill, screeching to a halt behind it. Everyone immediately piled out of the vehicles and ran into the Hornbill. Yaz took a brief moment to thank Migas, then she quickly ran to the cockpit. She began to prep the Hornbill for flight, pressing all the buttons and adjusting the aircraft. Everyone else quickly loaded up and Caliban took the co-pilot's seat. Everyone quickly got to the cockpit as the Hornbill came to life.

"Can you fly it?" Valentina asked.

Yaz smirked, and grabbed hold of the controls. The engines ignited with a roar and slowly began to float up into the air.

"**Looks like she can.**" Hyun-Woo smiled, getting a glance of thanks from Yaz as the Hornbill took off.

Chase, meanwhile, was still fighting Nemesis. He was just now shooting him when he felt a giant thud shake him a bit. Both he and Nemesis turned to see the Union Behemoth now only a few yards away from the Anvil. It fired everything it had, with the outer walls getting littered with bullet holes. Chase, realizing that the base is in danger, flew up into the air as the Behemoth fired five missiles. Four of them were shot out by the Anvil's outer defenses, but one hurled itself toward the command center. Luckily, Chase flew up and threw the missile off course, exploding it in the air. Chase then flew away for a vantage point while the command center finally got some good news.

"Hammer engineering reports ready to deploy." A weapons officer reported.

"Open it up!" Colonel Marin said immediately. "Target the Behemoth and fire when ready!"

The top of the Anvil opened up to reveal two railguns. As the railguns charged up gen:LOCK Hornbill took to the air and flew away from the base. The railguns finally shot two blasts, piercing the Behemoth. The gen:LOCK members and the Vanguard in the base cheered when the Behemoth fell to the ground with a large thud. But that moment of jubilation didn't last long. Cause as soon as the Behemoth stopped moving, the sides unleashed its dark and purple cloud of nanotech, which consumed the grounds outside the base and everyone there. It even began to seep into the base.

"No… no!" Cammie spluttered.

She turned away as Oliver put his arm around her. Eero just silently looked away as Kazu lightly punched the ceiling of the cockpit. Yaz couldn't grieve much as she still had to concentrate on flying. Charlotte was manning the turret on top of the Hornbill, so she didn't have time to grieve either.

Chase though, on his vantage point, looked out to the cloud of purple nanotech mist below him. Knowing that it would be futile, he contacted everyone he could.

"Anvil Ops, Chaser, come in." He said. "Tempest, Chaser, come in! Anyone…?"

The Hornbill was still getting railed with bullets from the Union fighters that are tailing them.

"Chase, we need you!" Yaz pleaded, using her comms.

Chase, looking around him, knew that he couldn't do much else now. He quickly ignited his jetpack and flew towards his teammates. He saw that the Hornbill, albeit firing back from the turret, was still getting heavily damaged. He quickly shot down all of the caught up to the Hornbill. Then, the Hornbill and Chase flew off into the darkening sky, leaving the battle behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was the dead of night. The skies have darkened with black and murky clouds, with rain pouring down. The Hornbill had landed in a field with a couple dead trees and several cliffsides around them. Beside the Holon, a few feet in front of them, was Chase's Holon, offline by the looks of it. It was in a crouching stance, with a hand on the ground to support its stance.

The rain pattered on the windscreen of the Hornbill. There was also a light melancholy guitar music in the background. Yaz and Chase were looking very serious, with Eero and Cammie looking at their own monitor pads as well.

"Anything yet?" Chase asked.

"No." Yaz replied sadly.

The two stood silently for a bit until Eero spoke up after scanning with the radar.

"They're toying with us." He said solemnly.

"Can we try messaging the Vanguard again?" Cammie asked. "Maybe poke around the Ether?"

"No." Eero replied. "Not until we figure out how they're tracking us."

As the four of them continued to search, Oliver was helping Cammie look around her monitors. Hyun-Woo was getting a slight cut wound on his head looked at by Charlotte, who was dabbing the wound with a small swab. Eva was flipping a card around in her fingers as she waited. Kazu, initially just looking off to space, began to take notice of the guitar music. To his surprise, Valentina was playing a small tune on his guitar. Not only that, she was playing it really well.

"_Didn't know you played._" He said.

"Well… I have the faintest memories." Valentina replied, still playing the guitar. "Memories of me learning old Gekirin songs… on a rooftop in… Shinjuku?"

Kazu's eyes widened. What Valentina said… those were his own memories. How would Valentina know the details of that unless… he paused. He thought back to the Anvil. When Val helped him in a bind with the Union forces. Valentina noticed this confusion on Kazu's face.

"Maybe now… there are something you understand about me too?" She asked, the guitar music humming for a bit before ending.

Kazu and Valentina shared a long dead stare at each other. For some reason, Kazu finally seem to have an inkling of what Valentina was saying, but that tension was cut when Cammie turned around to talk to them.

"You guys mind-melded earlier!" Cammie commented. "That was so cool!"

Valentina smiled while Kazu looked away nervously.

"_Yeah… maybe it's best we don't do that again._" Kazu sighed.

"Oh, come on. You were brilliant together!" Cammie said. "I shared senses with Oliver earlier too! And look what we did!"

Oliver blushed very brightly when Cammie mentioned their mind-melding earlier. He remembered how they initiated too. Vividly. He coughed loudly to get Cammie's attention.

"Oh, sorry." Cammie smiled. "But still, we were amazing out there."

Oliver moved up and stood beside Cammie as she continued to talk to Kazu.

"Kazu, what Cammie said isn't wrong." He added. "When we melded, we were able to perform above our usual selves. Surely, you must've felt the same thing."

Kazu sat up in his chair and looked at the two teens.

"_What would you do if I knew your every thought, huh?_" He asked. "_Even those you never wanted to share? How would you feel?_"

Oliver lifted a hand up over Cammie to cover her, but Cammie lowered it. She then had a joking look on her face.

"I'd feel bad if you're head exploded because you couldn't handle the minds of two 17-year-old teenagers." She teased. "Other than that, I got no shame."

"Same here." Oliver said. "We got no secrets."

Cammie and Oliver quickly exchanged glances before Cammie turned to everyone else.

"The rest of you better sort yourselves out though. Cause we need this." She said. "It's what Doc would've wanted."

There was a moment of silence for that comment. They haven't heard from anyone from the Vanguard, not to mention Dr. Weller. Everyone looked away or just looked down to the floor in sorrow for a few seconds. Chase looked around and then decided it's time for another patrol.

"Alright. I'm gonna patrol a little, see what I can see." He said before mixing away.

Once Chase was gone, everyone began to shift a bit. Hyun-Woo sat up while still getting his wound handled by Charlotte.

"**This is the third time we tried to make camp.**" He mentioned. "**How do they keep finding us?**"

"Eva and I swept the ship as we can. No transmitting." Cammie replied. "And the weather should solve the satellite issue."

Hyun-Woo grimaced as he slouched back down, and Charlotte, now wrapping up the wound, looked to the others.

"We can't keep doing this." She said. "Fuel, food, sleep… we're running low as it is."

"We need a real plan." Eva said, finally withdrawing the calling card back into her sleeve.

"What do you want us to do?" Yaz shot back suddenly. "Drop you off somewhere else?"

Eva shot a glare back at Yaz. Once the two were done, Eva spoke up.

"We must've been really lucky to have gotten away this long." She said. "The Union, however, only have to be lucky… once."

The two stopped as they saw Chase's Holon walking off into the distance. Yaz didn't admit it, but Eva was right. All they've been doing as of late is just running. And every time they were in the clear, the Union were there to run them off. She only hoped there would be something that can help their situation in the future.

Meanwhile, Chase was having his own set of problems. He had walked a few yards away from the Hornbill. He felt as if he had let down everyone. He thought back to when the nanotech swept through the Anvil, consuming everyone. The Colonel, Migas, Jodie, Leon, and… Miranda.

His thoughts leaned on Miranda. The more he thought, the more he wished he could've done more. Chase fell on his knees as he continued to think. He whimpered quietly as he closed his eyes.

"**D**-**d**-**d**_r_i_**v**_**e**s y**o**_u_ **c**_**r**__a_zy, _d_**o**e_**s**_n'_t_ _**i**_**t**?" Nemesis's voice echoed. "**W**_h_e_**n**_ **y**o_u_ _r_**e**-_r_**e**-_r_**e**a_**l**_**i**z_e_ y**o**_u_ **c**a_n_'**t** **c**r_y_ **i**n **o**n_e_ **o**_**f**_ _t_**h**e_s_**e** _t_**h**i_**n**_**g**s… **t**_h_e_**r**_**e**'_s_ _**a**_ _l_**o**t _o_**f** _f_u-u-u-_zz_**y**… b**u**_t_ _s_o**m**_e_ **m**o_m_**e**_**n**__t_s… s_o_**m**_e_ _m_**e**m_o_**r**_i_**e**s…"

Chase quickly got alert when he heard the voice. He quickly grabbed his rifle from his back and looked around.

"_H_**e**-_h_**e**r**e**'_s_ _t_**h**e **k**i_ll_**e**_**r**_ _**t**__h_o**u**_g_h…" Nemesis continued. "A_r_**e** _y_**o**u **s**_**t**_i_ll_ **h**_u_m_**a**_n **i**_f_ **y**o_u_ **c**_**a**__n_'_t_ _c_**r**y… s_l_**ee**p… o_r_… _**d**_**r**_e_a_**m**_?"

"Guys, you hear this, right?" Chase asked.

"We gotta go!" Cammie called urgently. "We've got another wave coming in fast from the northeast!"

Chase turned around to see the Hornbill lifting off into the air. He wasted no time in activating the jetpacks and flying after it. They were followed by a squadron of Union Fighters.

The Union Fighters immediately rained fire at them, with Chase retaliating by firing at them. Eero took the gun turret on top of the Hornbill and provided Chase support. A small dogfight ensued, but the Union Fighters were destroyed very easily, with Chase shooting them all down.

"_W_h**e**-_w_h**e**_n_ **a**_**r**__e_ _y_o**u** **g**-**g**-**g**_o_nn_a_ **s**_**t**__o_p **r**_u_-_u_-_u_**n**n_**i**_**n**g f**r**o_m_ **t**h_e_ **t**_r_**u**_t__h_?" Nemesis asked.

"That's the last of them." Chase called, putting his rifle away.

"**R**_u_-_u_-_u_-n a**ll** _y_**o**u **w**an_t_…" Nemesis said. "**I**_t_ **w**on'_t_ **s**_**t**_-**s**_**t**_-**s**_**t**_o_p_ **u**_n_t_**i**_l _y_o**u**'_r__**e**_ _g_-_g_-_g_**o**ne."

Chase was about to retort something, but Nemesis stopped talking altogether. He made a motion similar to rolling his eyes as he continued to fly.

"Damn, finally he shuts up." He said to himself.

"Say again?" Cammie asked.

Chase quickly snapped back, and then responded.

"Oh, sorry, Oliver." He replied. "It's just that I… I mean, Nemesis keeps monologuing at me."

"Wait, you mean you can hear him now?" Yaz asked.

"Yeah. He's on our network." Chase replied.

Cammie paused for a few minutes, and then a light bulb went off in her head.

"Yaz! Land!" She said.

"Cammie?" Yaz replied.

"Just put down! Now!" Cammie yelled. "Ugh, I'm so stupid."

"What the hell, girl?" Chase asked.

"Cammie, what's going on?" Oliver asked.

"I know how they're finding us!" Cammie explained. "Oliver, follow me!"

Yaz and Oliver did as they were told. Yaz quickly flew the Hornbill down to the ground while Oliver quickly followed Cammie into the cargo bay. The Hornbill landed in a muddy field, with Chase's Holon landing behind it. The cargo bay opened with Cammie, Kazu, and Eva walking out. Oliver was on the winch, preparing to load Chase's Holon.

"Don't download yet!" Oliver called, working the crane. "You've got to get on board. We have to stow your Holon!"

"One of us has to be ready to fight, though." Chase replied.

"Come on!" Cammie shouted back. "Listen to him! We've got to move before they find us again!"

"Who takes over for Chase then?" Eva asked.

"No one!" Cammie quickly replied. "None of us can upload."

Kazu and Eva looked at each other confused, and then back at Cammie. Cammie scoffed and then explained.

"The Doc told you he's uh, well, you!" She explained. "That means he's always on the GL network. He senses us when we're uploaded."

With that revelation in mind, Chase then moved into position to get his Holon loaded. Oliver steadied the winch as it connected with the Chase's Holon. Once they were connected, he was hoisted up and moved into the Hornbill. Chase downloaded in the middle of that. Now that Chase was loaded up, the Hornbill took off into the air one more time.

Once they had reached flight altitude, Yaz put the Hornbill on auto-pilot and turned to face Cammie, who had been explaining to everyone else what's been going on with Nemesis.

"**He can find us through gen:LOCK?**" Hyun-Woo asked.

"Yeah." Cammie replied. "That's why he kept on showing up whenever we went on a mission."

"Does that mean he's been creeping us the whole time?" Valentina asked.

"Range might be a factor, but I don't know…" Cammie admitted. "But maybe yeah. He could've been listening in."

"Which gets him what?" Chase asked.

"I mean… it's you we're talking here." Oliver added. "What would you do?"

"Hey, let's make one thing clear." Chase retorted. "He's fighting for the Union. Whatever he says, he ain't me. Not anymore."

"Can't we just block him out or something?" Charlotte asked.

"The GL net's all about making it as easy as possible to share your minds." Cammie replied. "If I had the source codes, maybe I could rewrite the protocol stack, but…"

"Then… we never upload again?" Eva asked, a little hesitation coming through her voice. "Stay off the gen:LOCK network; they won't find us?"

Cammie took a short glance at Oliver, and then got really depressed.

"That doesn't feel right." She admitted.

"_What other choice do we have?_" Kazu mentioned. "_We lost the Doctor." _

Chase felt the low morale throughout the cockpit. He coughed into his hand and then spoke.

"Look, I know this is not the best situation we're in right now." He said, looking around everyone. "We promised him we'd team up and help, see where gen:LOCK can go."

"Where it went, is a dead end." Valentina responded. "Without him, the technology has no future. So, I ask: what is our endgame?"

"We protect gen:LOCK." Yaz answered.

"Or destroy it." Eva suggested.

Chase and Yaz immediately shot glares at the French phantom theif, who just raised her arm in defense. Valentina noticed this hostility, so she spoke up.

"What else do you suggest we do then?" She said. "If you insist on uploading again, then we'll have to split up."

"You need to be stronger than this." Yaz pleaded, looking at everyone.

"Dr. Weller is dead, but we're not." Chase continued. "And I'm not gonna let his hope die with him."

"_**Omega protocols in effect.**_" A voice similar to Dr. Weller suddenly spoke.

Everyone was startled by the new voice. Everyone looked to see Caliban standing up. His eyes were also glowing green. He was facing Chase as he continued to speak.

"_**Julian Chase: Code phrase required.**_" He said.

"What the hell?!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"**It speaks?**" Hyun-Woo asked.

"Not till now!" Chase and Yaz both replied.

"And why does it sound like the-" Cammie started before getting cut off.

"_**Julian Chase: Code phrase required.**_" Caliban said again.

Chase was a little confused. He turned to Yaz, who just shrugged. Chase really didn't know how to respond, so he just said the first thing that came to his head.

"Let the good times roll?" He said.

Caliban stood still for a few seconds before nodding and gesturing a hand towards him.

"_**Accepted.**_" He said. "_**Please confirm the status of Dr. Weller.**_"

"… Dr. Weller is dead." Chase said.

Caliban stood still again, and then looked down to the floor as if he was sad. But he quickly pivoted his head back up.

"_**Omega protocols apply.**_" He said, turning a bit. "_**Message as follows.**_"

Then, a mix image of Dr. Weller appeared before the gen:LOCK members. Everyone was wide-eyed to see the Doctor again, and quickly discarded any other thoughts before Dr. Weller spoke.

"Hello." He started, adjusting his glasses. "Well, here's your Deus ex Machina. Or would it be doctor ex Machina, eh? Well, horrible cliché either I suppose."

"If you are seeing this, then you are my recruits, and I, am no more." Dr. Weller sighed. "Caliban, however, is clearly with you and ought to be of some assistance. You should know that he was one of my earliest gen:LOCK experiments."

"Not just for testing Holon frame ideas either." He continued. "He contains one of the earliest cyber-brain dev platforms, loaded with a sliver of my own neural pattern. Which makes him rather effective as my walking personal data assistant but horrible at my wit, which is why I tend to leave him muted."

"He's been loaded with everything I know about gen:LOCK." Dr. Weller went on. "Notes, theories, plans, etcetera. So, probably best you don't broadcast exactly what he is."

There was a brief pause as Dr. Weller quickly flattened out his jacket and shirt as he took in a deep breath.

"Now… I'm not good with the personal touch or opening up." He said. "It's something I quite struggled with, and that has cost me over the years."

"And… as you are seeing this message, it means it also cost me the ability to tell you in person… how much you mean to me. You're each so very special."

"I regret I shall not have the chance to see all your finer moments that lie ahead. But… you share such a unique bond." Dr. Weller sighed. "I have faith that even in the most challenging times, it will help you see through. Be well."

And with that, Dr. Weller's message came to an end. Everyone exchanged glances with each other after that message. Cammie lifted her arm up and held Oliver's hand, who in turned lightly squeezed it back. Yaz also went to hold Chase's hand, but she just phased right through him. She forgot that this was just a mix image of Chase, so she quickly retreated her hands back to herself. Chase felt this, but paid no mind. He looked at Caliban.

"Cal." He said.

"_**Julian Chase.**_" Caliban responded.

"Just call me Chase." Chase replied back. "Cal, what was the next step for gen:LOCK? Did Doc really intended for us to stay at the Anvil forever?"

"_**Upon completion of prototype phase, Vanguard is to commence Phase Two, manufacturing.**_" Caliban explained. "_**While Phase Three, research and development, relocated to the Rogue Technology, Aeronautics, and Space Administration assembly facility.**_"

"Whoa, RTASA?" Cammie asked, perking up. "Seriously? Why?"

"Hey, at least we have a destination now." Charlotte said. "Better than nowhere, right?"

"Depends on what kind of drinks they serve in nowhere." Valentina joked.

"Yeah, but you know what RTASA's got?" Cammie asked with a smile. "Astronaut Ice Cream!"

There was an awkward silence after Cammie said that.

"Really?" She said.

Ignoring that, everyone went back to the task at hand.

"Caliban, coordinates for the RTASA facility please." She requested.

"_**Of course.**_" Caliban replied, raising a finger. "_**After all, the only disability in life, is a bad latitude.**_"

Another awkward silence ensued. Caliban tilted his head to everyone as he waited for a few seconds.

"_**Holding for laugh.**_" He said, now looking at the consoles on the Hornbill. "_**Transferring coordinates.**_"

Chase and Yaz quickly looked at the coordinates that Caliban provided. They were a bit puzzled by the numbers.

"Huh." Chase admitted. "Never heard of a base out there."

"It's RTASA, Chase." Cammie explained. "They're not exactly known for advertising their location."

"Alright, everyone." Yaz finally concluded. "Strap in. A lot of turbulence ahead."

"A bit poetic, ain't it?" Oliver muttered as he left to get a seat.

The Hornbill, with now a destination in mind, departed towards the RTASA facility. Yaz and Caliban took the pilots' seats, and were steadily keeping the aircraft flying. Yaz then decided to talk to Chase in the back.

As she walked into the passenger area, she took notice of everyone asleep. At Charlotte's request, everyone beside Yaz agreed to get some shut-eye. The area had space for only one sleeping compartment, and older members decided to give it to the youngest members of the group, Oliver and Cammie. Cammie fell asleep in first, with Oliver sleeping beside her. Yaz quickly straightened out their covers, tucking them in. Cammie turned around and nuzzled herself near Oliver's face. Yaz could've sworn Cammie smiled very lightly. Still, she turned around and walked further in. Everyone else was asleep in their gen:LOCK pods. Although she didn't find Hyun-Woo in his own pod.

She eventually made it to Chase's pod and talked with him. A few minutes of talking passed before Chase went to sleep. Yaz held her arm as she went back to the cockpit. To her surprise, she found Hyun-Woo awake with his sword at his side.

"You should be asleep." She said.

"**Couldn't sleep.**" Hyun-Woo replied. "**A lot of things on my mind, you know?**"

Yaz shook her head as she sat down on the pilot's seat. Hyun-Woo sat up as he put his sword down.

"**How's Chase doing?**" He asked, stepping up to her.

"He's blaming himself for Nemesis's existence." Yaz replied, not really paying attention.

"**Right…**" Hyun-Woo muttered.

He tapped his foot as he began to think of something else to talk about. He coughed into his hand quietly as he thought of a subject.

"**So… Dr. Weller meant a lot to you, huh?**" He asked.

Yaz was surprised when he mentioned Dr. Weller. She turned around and faced Hyun-Woo. He was expecting her to be mad, but she looked very solemn.

"I never told you what my relationship with the Doctor was, did I?" She said.

"**Uh… yeah.**" Hyun-Woo replied. "**You never brought it up.**"

Yaz held her necklace as she began to talk. Hyun-Woo sat down to listen.

"I told you I was a part of the Union…" She began. "And when they ousted me, they shunned me aside, leaving me to survive on my own."

"With the Union not being an option, I turned to the Polity in search of refuge." Yaz continued. "But the moment I stepped into their territory, I was arrested on sight and put into a prison."

"I was questioned and was almost sentenced to death when I was selected for gen:LOCK." Yaz finished. "Ever since, I owed the Doctor everything…"

Yaz began to choke up and sniff. Small tear drops formed in the corner of her eyes.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be so mournful…" She said, turning away and wiping the tears away. "He gave me a new chance at life… I never got the chance to tell him that."

Hyun-Woo stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Yaz looked up at Hyun-Woo in surprise, feeling his warm hand.

"**It'll be alright.**" Hyun-Woo said. "**The Doctor made sure you lived. Maybe that's a sign?**"

Yaz looked up at Hyun-Woo and smiled. For some reason, he exerted the same fatherly feeling that Dr. Weller once did. Yaz held his hand as she smiled lightly.

"Thank you, Hyun-Woo." She said. "I think I can see why the others picked you as their team leader."

"**Thank you.**" Hyun-Woo replied back. "**Tell you what, you get some sleep too. I'll take the driver's seat for a bit. We'll change when you want.**"

"Wait, you know how to fly?" Yaz asked.

"**A bit.**" Hyun-Woo said. "**My cousin's a pilot. He taught me a few tricks."**

Yaz nodded and stood up from the pilot's seat. She yawned as she did, Hyun-Woo getting a small chuckle as he took over the seat. Yaz gave him a glance of gratitude as she walked into the passenger compartment. As Hyun-Woo got comfortable, he and Caliban looked at each other.

"_**Well, that was unexpected.**_" Caliban commented. "_**But no less entertaining.**_"

Hyun-Woo rolled his eyes as he kept the Hornbill steady.

The morning sun rose up as the Hornbill began their approach. Everyone had finally woken up as they came into the cockpit again. Cammie noticed Hyun-Woo was already there with Yaz, both looking fresh as a daisy.

"Well, aren't you two bright and early?" She commented.

"**We took turns flying.**" Hyun-Woo replied with a glance at Yaz. She only responded with a simple shrug and a smirk.

Eero looked outside to see the RTASA facility coming into view. He noticed that no one was out in the airfields.

"Have they heard our approach?" He asked. "No one's out there."

"I tried standard frequencies." Yaz answered. "Nothing."

Valentina looked out to see if Eero was wrong. He wasn't. There was a single sign of life down at the airfield of the RTASA facility.

"Not a good sign." She commented. "No ground markings of any kind."

"Well, either they moved." Chase suggested. "Or they don't want to be found any more than we do."

"_**Or I inputted the wrong coordinates.**_" Caliban said.

Everyone turned to look at Caliban, who just looked over his shoulder and stared back.

"_**I didn't.**_" He assured. "_**But it's no less an ominous thought, don't you agree?**_"

With that remark out of the way, the Hornbill approached the airstrip. It turned around as it landed. The cargo ramp opened and everyone walked out. Charlotte lightly covered the sun with her hands as she blocked it from her eyes.

"_No greeting party, huh?_" Kazu sighed as he stretched.

"Is it okay to say I have a bad feeling about this place?" Cammie asked.

"And… you jinxed us." Oliver remarked in a joking voice.

Cammie lightly jabbed Oliver on his side as the two walked down the ramp. Chase mixed in outside as Caliban looked at his surroundings as well.

"_**I have experienced warmer welcomes.**_" He commented. "_**Cemeteries, the Artic… the ex-wife.**_"

"A-alright, Cal." Chase interrupted. "I'm gonna need you stay on mute for a bit if that's okay."

Caliban looked at Chase curiously before blinking. Just then, several cars began to drive up to them.

"Heads up." Eva called.

All of the cars stopped just a few feet away from the Hornbill. Then, all of the doors opened to reveal armored guards who all pointed their weapons at them. All of gen:LOCK instinctively put up their hands.

"Anybody here order a pizza?" Chase asked with a smile. "Really? No one? Cause we were supposed to deliver to a secret facility in the middle of nowhere, this has got to be it."

From one of the cars, outstepped a familiar face. He quickly saw the situation and stepped forward to settle things down.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Henry called. "Lower your guns! Everybody chill."

"Dr. Wu?" Oliver called out.

"Hey, hey! They're cool, and they have cool toys, so stand down!" Henry continued, even shoving one of the guard's gun down. "No shooty."

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Cammie asked.

Henry turned to all of gen:LOCK and greeted them with a smile.

"Science!" He replied. "What about you guys?"

"Wait, have you not heard the news?" Valentina asked.

"I-is… something up?" Henry asked. "You guys okay?"

Chase looked around. They were in too open of an area to talk openly.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" He asked.

"Well, we do have this giant secret research facility." Henry said, pointing to the building behind him. "Follow me."

The gen:LOCK members followed Henry into the facility. After going through the entrance, they continued on into the hallway and stopped at a desk. From a door to the side, outstepped a smartly dressed woman. She looked at Henry and then the gen:LOCK members.

"Who do we have here?" She asked.

"Dr. Jha." Henry greeted. "This is the team I told you about. Rescued us with the badass mecha."

Chase stepped forward. He coughed into his hands and then he spoke.

"Ma'am." He started. "I'm Lieutenant Julian Chase of the-, formerly of the Vanguard 101st. These are my teammates. We've been attached to a project for Dr. Rufus Weller. Do you know him?"

"Better than most." Dr. Jha replied bluntly. "Never as well as I think though."

"Sounds about right." Cammie muttered.

"He sent us." Yaz added.

"Already?" Dr. Jha repeated. "Just like him not to update me first.

Everyone looked at each other for a bit before turning back to Dr. Jha.

"Ma'am…" Chase sighed. "Dr. Weller died in a Union attack yesterday."

Dr. Jha froze at that. Her look changed to a somber look.

"Rufus died…?" She whispered.

All of gen:LOCK nodded quietly. Yaz looked a little more somber than the others, but Hyun-Woo nudged her out of it.

"Rufus died…" She repeated. "I told him… I told him!"

"Ma'am?" Chase asked.

"And you are all part of the gen:LOCK program?" Dr. Jha asked, ignoring Chase.

Everyone was surprised by that callout. Aside from them and Caliban, they figured they were the only ones that knew about gen:LOCK.

"You know about gen:LOCK?" Charlotte asked.

"I was there when he first proved it out." Dr. Jha replied.

"**You worked with him at the ESU?**" Hyun-Woo asked.

"No…" Dr. Jha replied. "… I was married to him."

Everyone took a minute to take that in. Dr. Weller was married? That was something he never disclosed. But they couldn't ask her about it, as they had to get moving. After a few minutes to recover, they quickly escorted Dr. Jha to their Hornbill, where they showed her their damaged Holons.

"We barely managed to get out of there." Chase said.

"You should know he died saving us, giving us a chance." Yaz added.

"And you brought the Holons." Dr. Jha replied.

"Not in their best look, but yeah." Chase sighed.

He waved to Oliver, who began to operate the winch. The Hornbill extended out and turned around Chase and Hyun-Woo's Holons in their stored form.

"Holons, brains, systems." Cammie presented. "The whole shebang."

Dr. Jha's eyes widened as she looked at the teal and brown Holon in front of her.

"Ten field-ready Holons?" She gasped. "I knew he made it to recruiting but… progress at this pace… it's… it's astounding."

"Yeah." Chase admitted. "Life's been coming at us kind of fast these days."

"_War will that to you._" Kazu commented, looking up their damaged Holons.

"I wonder if he even let Holcroft know…" Dr. Jha muttered, walking up to the Holons.

"Wait." Eva said. "Do you mean Marc Holcroft?"

"Yes." Dr. Jha replied. "He's the principal investor for the ESU, RTASA as well. The three of us were more or less partners before… before I decided it would better if I returned to my work here."

She looked up at the Holons. She took a closer look on the damages the Holons had. Bullet holes, scratches, and their overall lack of appearance.

"It's strange…" She said. "If gen:LOCK worked, we planned to share it with a variety of other organizations, including RTASA. But once the war began, I stopped believing it would happen."

"Well, gen:LOCK's here now ma'am." Chase said optismicially. "Just probably not how you imagined it."

"And it's possibly should not stay here." Eero added. "Where we go, danger tend to follow."

Dr. Jha nodded and then cupped her chin. She looked at the Holons again.

"I wonder if Rufus kept Marc up to speed." She suggested.

Later, all of gen:LOCK were placed in a temporary waiting room as Dr. Jha contacted Marc Holcroft. It was only a few minutes of waiting before Henry stepped into let them in.

"Okay, what's the password?" He asked.

"**Open the door before I slice you in half?**" Hyun-Woo retorted, holding his sword.

"Good guess." Henry chuckled nervously, letting the gen:LOCK members inside.

All of them walked into the conference room as Dr. Jha had a mix image of an older looking man. He was wearing black pants and black shoes and dark blue overalls. This man was Marc Holcroft.

"And these are Weller's recruits." Dr. Jha introduced.

Dr. Jha took a few steps back to let Holcroft meet the gen:LOCK recruits. Each member's profile displayed behind Holcroft as he began to make his way through them.

"Oliver Hughes. Great Western Railway train engineer." He started. "Member of a steam locomotive preservation society."

Oliver scratched the back of his head in nervousness, but Cammie giggled quietly as she looked at him.

"Cameron MacCloud. Scottish hacktivist." Holcroft continued. "Turned white hat cybersecurity expert for the Polity after going just a bit too far."

Cameron stared at Holcroft as he read off her bio. She didn't seem impressed or anything.

"Eero Laine. Youngest battalion general of the Vanguard's European branch." Holcroft said next. "Parents are of Union origin."

Eero grunted quietly when Holcroft mentioned his parents. Yaz took a small glance at him. She was glad that she wasn't the only person who have a Union origin.

"Iida Kazu. Japanese SDF washout." Holcroft added.

"_You say that like it's a bad thing._" Kazu chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Eva Guillard. AKA Argent Noir." Holcroft went on. "Phantom Thief of Paris, vigilante of the night… or as the French news put it."

Eva shrugged at that. It has been a while since anyone has said those things to her.

"Valentina Romanysyzn. Former Russian advanced recon and stealth ops." Holcroft said. "Fell in with the Ukrainian Resistance due to, shall we say, societal pressures. Retired but pressed into service again, eh?"

Valentina's eyes lit up when Holcroft mentioned societal pressures. She didn't say anything though.

"Charlotte Graham. 1st Lieutenant of the 1123rd Medical Battalion of the Australian Defense Force." Holcroft said. "Family a long line of veteran soldiers."

Charlotte smirked. She would've said something,

"Yasamin Madrani. Former Union citizen." Holcroft said. "Sought asylum at the Polity after learning she was responsible for outing her parents as intellectuals, after which the Union took them."

Yaz held her arm when Holcroft mentioned her parents. It wasn't a time she really didn't like to remember. Valentina put a hand on her shoulder to help her cope.

"Park Hyun-Woo. Most decorated captain of the Korean Army." Holcroft continued. "Descendant from an ancient clan of warriors."

Hyun-Woo shifted a bit. He was a little apprehensive that Holcroft was given access to that bit of his information.

"And not least, Julian Chase. American." Holcroft wrapped up. "Father NYPD, died in the line of duty. Rising star of the Vanguard's aerial combat win until the Battle of New York where is mother and sister were also lost. Recovered by the ESU where he became the very first human mind in history to be transferred to an electronic brain. Not without incident of course."

"Alright, now listen here, Thanos-" Cammie started.

"Please, relax." Holcroft assured. "Rufus passed along your names as you were identified, and I'm always sure to research my… investments."

Holcroft then walked over to a set of pictures that depicted all sorts of different machines. They all had Dr. Weller's staple on it.

"I am sorry that Rufus won't be here to see his work change the world. He was a brilliant engineer and a friend." He sighed. "But this leads us to you all. Whatever in the world to do with you now?"

"We got that last known working bits of gen:LOCK tech, and the Union wants it." Chase responded. "We're putting Dr. Jha and her team at risk by being here."

"There is a rogue version of Chase who can track us when we're uploaded." Yaz added. "We cannot even use gen:LOCK now."

"Ah, the lost Holon, yes." Holcroft said. "The Union is not thieving. Incapable of innovating on their own. You can say it's located?"

Holcroft then put up a large mix image of Nemesis. It was a vague scale to the actual thing, which somewhat intimidated Cammie. She stepped back a bit behind Oliver, who understood this.

"If you want to get specific, it can locate us." She corrected.

"_But remember, we can't fight right now._" Kazu noted. "_Our Holons are too damage from our battle at the Anvil._"

"It never rains." Holcroft replied. "Well, what do you propose?"

All of gen:LOCK looked at each other for a bit. They didn't know what to say, but Cammie, pulling Oliver forward with her

"Oliver and I were, uh, apprenticing under the doc. He taught us the ins and outs of GL." She said. "We've… got a fair idea how to keep maintenance at least."

"Well… isn't that fortuitous?" Holcroft commented. "Perhaps you can devise a way to shut down your interloper. I find it irksome that the Union has my technology."

"Can we not forget that it's a stolen version of me?" Chase asked.

"Chase, I can only imagine what you're going through." Holcroft assured. "But, in times of stress, I find it most productive to keep focused on the goal. Do I assume correctly that If you were enabled, you'd go after this lost Holon?"

"That's for damn sure." Chase answered instantly.

"Then we have a deal." Holcroft said. "Dr. Jha, help the gen:LOCK team repair their Holons. Why don't we make use of our latest materials?"

"Uh, excuse me…" Oliver spoke up. "I'd like to ask we don't simply repair them. Cammie's got some new designs for armor upgrades I think would help."

Oliver quickly gathered of the files and showed it to Holcroft and Dr. Jha.

"Well, we have to start somewhere." Dr. Jha responded. "You have the CAD files? Yes, send them over."

"Bring in the lost Holon, or eliminate it." Holcroft requested. "So long as it doesn't remain in the hands of the Union. After that, we can discuss the future."

And on that note, Holcroft mixed away and everyone quickly went to work.

Immediately, all of the Holons were unloaded from the Hornbill and moved into the hanger by large trucks. Cammie and Dr. Jha looked over the CAD files Cammie had worked on to develop the new armor pieces. The various equipment of RTASA took off all of the Holons Vanguard armor and stored away for scrap metal.

As the new Holon armor pieces were developed, formed, and forged, Henry had the pieces moved over to the Holons for fitting. Oliver, now having the tools he needs to work with, began attaching the armor onto the Holons. With the help of the other engineers and mechanics working at RTASA, his duty was lifted a little. And when he took breaks, Cammie treated him to a cool bottle of water. And thanks to their works, all of the Holons were refitted and retooled with their new armor.

The sun had set by the time Cammie and Oliver were done, and all of gen:LOCK came to see their new Holons.

"_This is awesome…!_" Kazu stammered.

"They're… beautiful." Valentina said.

All of the Holons were given a complete makeover. Yaz's were given a goldish yellow armor, with phoenix-like wings on the back. She held her necklace in joy, as she smiled. Valentina's Holon looked similar to herself, with even the locks on the back of its head similar to her own hair. She placed a hand on her waist and smiled.

Eva's was similar to Valentina's, looking similar to her. But not her exactly, it had the shoulder pads, shining silver armor, and the X-shaped button on the side of its chest plate.

"Oh la la…" She remarked. "It's like looking at a mirror."

Charlotte's Holon only had a slight change from her Vanguard armor. It still had the boxy and square leg armor, only with new pink decals on it. It was given large shoulder plates that cover just a bit of her arm. It even had sirens on her forehead and shoulders. Charlotte chuckled as she looked at it.

Eero crossed his arms as he looked at his own. It was given a trident-shaped horn on the forehead of the helmet. It was given cylinders on each arm, which he only deduced was his minigun and grenade launcher. The shield generator was on the left arm as well.

Hyun-Woo's Holon had the head of a wolf. The wolf's mouth was open, revealing a covered face up to the nose. Each arm also had a slim-looking armor, but durable. He noticed that the wolf theme was all over his Holon. There were also small wolf eyes on the lower arms. He also noted that he had katanas. Two katanas, stored on each hip.

"**Where have I seen this somewhere before…?**" Hyun-Woo muttered under his breath. "**I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.**"

As for Kazu, when he saw the two horns on his Holon's helmet and the samurai-esque armor, he immediately knew what his Holon was.

"_Is that… RoboShogun?_" He asked. "_You two… did you two seriously made me RoboShogun?_"

"Yeah." Cammie smiled. "You've got some catching up to do on the manga, but…"

"_Ten-year-old me is so happy right now…_" Kazu sighed, combing his hair.

"What have you done with yours?" Eva asked as everyone else looked over to Cammie and Oliver's Holons.

Oliver's Holon had a more vivid orange color and had smoother armor. It even had a sleek helmet with a streamlined look. His cable launchers were given additional wheels for the cables to be stored in. The Holon looked like a bullet train.

Cammie's Holon was a smaller than it was. It even had shorter legs shaped to that of a rabbit. Plus, her Holon even had a rabbit shaped helmet, with even ears to compliment it.

"What do you think?" Oliver smiled.

"It me!" Cammie cheered, doing a cute pose.

Oliver giggled at Cammie's cuteness as he walked over to Chase, who was looking at his Holon silently. He had jet-wings on the back with two missiles cannons over the head. Chase was looking a little bit different. His outfit looked similar to the gen:LOCK Body Suit, with the Vanguard V on his chest.

"Chase, we good?" He asked.

"We're better than good now." Chase replied.

"And your Holon's not the only thing that changed, right?" Oliver smiled, nudging his mix image.

"It didn't occur to me that I should try to change my look every four years." Chase smiled, gesturing to his new look. "Plus, I got a new team now, you know."

"It looks good on you." Yaz complimented.

"Alrighty then." Cammie smiled, walking over to them. "Well, we're going to sleep for a week. Then what, boss man?"

"We deal with Nemesis." Chase said. "One way… or the other."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Julian Chase – Connecting… _

_Connection failed._

"Come on…" asked a voice. "Donde estan?"

All of the Holons were unloaded from their bays. First, they were bathed in the sun for a few seconds as the hanger opened. Then, the Holons were loaded up onto huge transports and moved towards the Hornbill.

_Hyun-Woo Park – Connecting… _

_Connection failed. _

"You gotta be out there…" The voice said again.

The Holons' weapons are loaded separately as the crew members and engineers did more adjustments on the Hornbill.

_Cameron MacCloud – Connecting… _

_Connection failed. _

"Seriously?" The voice groaned.

Yaz was walking on top of the Hornbill, doing a sweep of the Hornbill. As she continued, she saw Cammie and Oliver painting a logo on the side of the Hornbill. The logo said "Renegade", and the colors were in yellow and purple. Yaz shook her head as she continued to sweep the Hornbill.

_Oliver Hughes – Connecting…_

"One of you better pick up, damn it." The voice said.

_Connected._

Oliver was back inside, checking to see if there was anything gen:LOCK left behind. As he was about to move on to his next checking place, he got a call. Hesitantly, he answered it.

"Uh… Hello?" He asked.

"Oliver?" The voice asked, mixing into a figure of Migas.

"Migas?!" Oliver exclaimed. "You're alive?!"

All of gen:LOCK heard this exclamation and quickly ran over to Oliver, with Migas greeting them all one by one.

"I can't believe it…" Chase said.

"That's what I said!" Oliver replied.

"Chase!" Migas smiled. "Man, you are one tough bastard to kill!"

"What about you guys?" Chase asked. "Hold on… if you made it, then…?"

"Is Dr. Weller alive?" Yaz asked hopefully.

Migas had a somber look. He didn't want to say it, but since they asked, he had to give a straight answer.

"No… sorry guys." He said sadly.

Yaz quickly stepped back, feeling sad all over again. Then, a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close. It was Hyun-Woo, he smiled lightly, and Yaz felt better again.

"When the lab went up, he took out most of the Union troops that got inside." Migas explained. "All we had to do take care of was the nano."

"You guys got flooded by that stuff though." Chase said. "What happened?"

Migas then explained how they were able to survive the flood of nanotech. Dr. Weller had learned how the nanotech functions to the Union and their sympathizers. He deduced that they all carried a chip that sent a signal to tell the nanotech to back off. He had figured out a way to mimic that signal. They used it, the nanotech froze, allowing the Vanguard to cut through the remaining Union forces.

"Hello, hook a girl up!" Cammie said.

"I got you covered. Sending the code now." Migas smiled, sending the code to Cammie. "Between the lab and the whole nanotech stuff, without the Doc…"

"None of us would be talking right now." Chase finished. "We owe him. Again."

"But man, where have you been?" Migas asked.

"We've been on the run." Chase replied. "It took us a while to lose them."

"Nemesis was tracking us through the GL network." Cammie said.

"Wait… uh, what-a-sis?" Migas repeated.

"Our mystery mech." Chase explained. "Under the hood, it's a Holon."

"Well, I don't know how to explain it." Oliver said. "It and Chase are… they share… uh…"

Oliver tried to explain the connection between Chase and Nemesis, but Migas was still having trouble following along. Chase cut the long-winded explanation by simply stating that Nemesis and he are one in the same person, with GL not being copy-protected.

"Huh." Migas sighed. "Well… I like you better, if that helps."

"Thanks." Chase said. "So, why'd you call us, man?"

"Cause we could use you guys." Migas said. "How you doing?"

"100%, ready to go." Chase said. "Packed and everything."

"Good, cause the Union's making another big move." Migas explained. "And with that nano under wraps, we just need you guys to keep Nemesis occupied."

"Where we headed?" Chase asked.

Migas then pulled up a map of Illinois, with Chicago being pinpointed as a waypoint.

"Sweet home Chicago." He said.

With their destination now in place, they ended their call with Migas and all left to their Hornbill. Before they all left though, Chase had a small chat with Dr. Jha while Cammie left Nugget with Henry. Cammie came back to the Hornbill without him.

"You sure it'll be alright to leave him here?" Oliver asked, who was waiting for her on the Hornbill ramp.

"It's alright." Cammie replied. "It's not like I'm leaving him forever."

"I know." Oliver answered back. "But still, we don't know what we're going into. I mean… we're going back to fighting again. Then again, I'm spit-balling here, what if we don't make it out of this fight again… I-"

Oliver suddenly got interrupted when Cammie grabbed hold of him and kissed him right on the lips. She had her eyes closed, and Oliver was overwhelmed with feelings. The two stayed like this for a few seconds before Cammie backed off for breath.

"You were muttering again." She teased.

Oliver sighed as he scratched his head. The two had very visible blushes on their faces right now.

"Force of habit I guess…" He admitted.

"Hey, don't worry." Cammie said, cupping Oliver's face. "We'll be fine."

Oliver nodded, but then the two maintained an awkward silence. Cammie rubbed her arm and Oliver just looked the other way.

"Hey…" Cammie asked, breaking the brief silence. "Want to do a real one?"

"Hm?" Oliver asked.

"A real kiss." Cammie corrected. "The one I just did was to shut you up. It didn't feel right."

Oliver thought for a bit. He would've said no, given that they had a mission ahead of themselves. But, right now for him, it was better now than later.

"Let's do it." He finally said.

Cammie then put her arms around Oliver's neck. Then, the two closed the gaps between their lips. The two stayed like this for a brief moment, and then separated with a small 'chu'. The two were blushing even brighter now.

"Ok…" Cammie said. "Now that's better."

"So… are we official now?" Oliver asked, looking away.

"Yep." Cammie replied, lightly punching his arm.

Then, the two heard a fake cough. They never realized that in the midst of their whole situation, Eva and Valentina were watching the whole thing happen. Not only that, they had just now realized that the Hornbill had taken off into the air and had departed towards Chicago.

"Well, that was something_._" Eva said, her hands on her hips.

"As much we'd like for you two nerazluchniki to continue." Valentina chuckled. "We're coming up on Chicago. Let's get going."

Cammie and Oliver nodded, and quickly went to the cockpit of the Hornbill. On the way, Cammie held Oliver's hand, fingers interlocked.

The Hornbill flew into Chicago airspace. Charlotte tuned into the Vanguard comm chatter as they entered the battle zone.

"Behemoth has dropped cloak in Lake Michigan." Colonel Marin's voice said. "T-minus 15 minutes to intracontinental test fire of the hammer system, so hang in there."

"Well, they wasted no time, do they." Charlotte commented.

"We should be helping them." Eero grumbled, crossing his arms.

"We have a mission, big guy." Charlotte retorted. "We will be helping."

"So, what's our game plan for Nemesis then?" Cammie asked.

"_He'll be in the middle of the war zone._" Kazu suggested. "_I say we go straight in and waste him._"

"**No.**" Hyun-Woo said. "**We'll have to isolate him. Keep him away from any support.**"

"Yeah…" Oliver asked. "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, we put down at the edge of the city." Chase replied. "We call him names and see if he runs over to us."

Everyone looked at Chase for a short bit. They were just baffled that someone like him would suggest such a rather mundane and downright elementary plan.

"That's your plan?" Yaz asked. "Seriously?"

"_**Simple, but effective.**_" Caliban echoed. "_**Dr. Weller gave you this rating many times in his performance reviews.**_"

Chase felt happy when he heard that. Still, Yaz was convinced as she just looked at Chase with a really worried look.

"That's gotta mean something, right?" He asked.

The Hornbill continued its flight all the way to a train yard on the far corner of Chicago. There, the Hornbill's cargo bay doors opened, releasing the Holons for deployment.

Chase and Yaz's Holons came down first. They used their flight capabilities to gently float down to the train yard gently. Following them, everyone deployed.

Cammie came down next, rolling on the ground before hoping back on her feet. Valentina dropped down, but quickly grappled up to higher position. Kazu landed with a loud thud, not moving when he had.

Next was gen:LOCK Two. Hyun-Woo and Charlotte dropped down. Hyun-Woo rolled as he landed, and Charlotte slid on the ground as she landed. She flipped her sirens on for a bit before turning them off. Eva landed and quickly climbed to a high position, opposite to Valentina. Oliver came down next, but quickly launched his cables to ease his landing. His feet gently touched the ground. Once he was down, he quickly retracted his cables. He walked one step before Eero slammed into the ground in front of him. Oliver got startled, but quickly recovered as he realized it was just Eero.

Cammie, once getting a feel of their current situation, threw one of her drones up into the air. The drones hovered as Cammie began to scan around for Union sightings. Her ears pivoted to and fro, taking intel from her drone.

"No sign of Nem yet…" She said. "Wait, got some bogies. It's not him, but…"

A Union patrol sighted the Holons to their left. The patrol was consisted of four battle squads, two tanks and eight fighters. The patrol noticed the Holons and prepared to engage them. Kazu pumped his fists together and Charlotte extended her knives as the Union patrol turned at them.

"_Good._" Kazu smiled. "_I could use a little warm-up._"

"Took the words right out of my mouth, big guy." Charlotte nodded.

With that said, the Holons engaged the Union patrol. The patrol split into even squads to fight the Holons. Yaz led the Fighters away, while the Charlotte and Kazu took care of the divided squads. Kazu rammed a tank into its squad while Charlotte stabbed a tank and then tossed it over her. Eero walked in and fire his mini-gun at the troopers. And while they fought, Chase spoke into the network, baiting Nemesis to them.

"Hey. I know you're creepin', so hear me out." He started. "So, all this time, I've been fighting to keep it together, and guess what? I'm not even the original. So, I gotta know: what could make you stand what you've become?"

"Why don't you rise up? Why are you still a Union slave, because that's what you are. I never understood that." Chase continued. "Isn't there any of me… us left in you? If there is, you're gonna have to prove it."

"IF there isn't well, you're going have to prove it." He finished. "You're gonna have to come shut me up or else we're gonna find out how you like having someone in your head all the time."

As Chase finished, he turned around. He saw the other Holons walking towards him, minus Eva and Valentina. They seemed to be ready.

"Alright." He told them. "Get ready."

"And activate any mods you're gonna want." Cammie suggested, pointing to her pistols.

Everyone held their respective weapons at the ready. All the Holons took a look at Yaz though.

"Ah, okay, fine." She sighed.

"And I just want you all to know," Cammie added. "I haven't dropped my fear response whatsoever."

Just then, one of her drones picked up a gen:LOCK signal. It sent the information to Cammie.

"Movement, in bound." She said, turning around to face the sky. "Something… big-ish."

"That was quick." Yaz commented, looking at the sky as well.

Everyone looked back at the sky. They were surprised and a little confused by what they were waiting for. Nemesis was fast approaching, but… it didn't feel right.

"Hold on." Oliver asked. "W-was he always this fast?"

"Don't think so." Charlotte replied. "We could spot a lug like him from miles away."

Then, very faintly, they all saw a black dot in the sky. It was getting closer and closer.

"Ah, guys?" Cammie quickly said. "I think I still want to change my fear response."

The black dot was now coming into view. It blew past some of the cargo containers as it dived right towards gen:LOCK.

"Ah, shi-" Chase started.

"SCATTER!" Eero shouted.

Just as the black blur tore past them, everyone quickly dove out of the way. Chase was tackled at full-speed, so he was knocked away from the rest of the team. He tumbled and hit a cargo container crane before falling onto a turntable. As he quickly got back on his feet, he saw the black blur land on top of another crane. It was Nemesis, but it looked… differently. It had a mouthguard of some kind, and it even had some extra pairs of appendage-like spikes on its back.

"Hey, guys. Check it out." Chase joked. "Tall, dark and ugly got… more like that."

Nemesis dropped down to Chase, turning off its jet boosters on its back. It twitched a bit before raising an arm. The arm was consumed by a vortex of nanotech, which in turn solidified into a large sword of some kind. Chase began shooting Nemesis with his rifle, but Nemesis didn't react to it much. Eero came in behind him, firing his minigun as well.

"Cammie!" He called.

"On it!" Cammie shouted back, throwing a flock of drones at Nemesis.

The nanotech sword twitched oddly, but the sword itself didn't change.

"How much longer?" Eero shouted, still shooting.

"I'm trying!" Cammie called. "They've already patched it with something new!"

Nemesis twitched, and began to attack. It swung the sword around, but Chase backed off to avoid it. But Nemesis grabbed his head and slammed him into the ground. It then tried to stab him with his extra spikes, but Chase was able to dodge them all. Nemesis grabbed his leg and threw into the leg of a cargo crane.

As Nemesis walked towards Chase, Kazu jumped in. Extending a bit more of his shoulder armor, he began to charge. Kazu threw a few punches, but Nemesis caught the punches easily. He then threw the punches away and thrusted Kazu away and down the turntable well.

"Kazu!" Cammie cried.

Kazu fell, but then a cable attached itself to his back. Kazu looked back to see Oliver holding him up and his hand holding onto a maintenance ledge.

"I got you!" Oliver called.

Nemesis moved towards him, but Yaz and Eero rushed in to stop it. Eero fired a grenade from his launcher to get Nemesis's attention, and then Yaz swooped in, firing her SMGs. She flew around Nemesis, with Eero assisting her with his minigun. However, Nemesis didn't get too distracted by it, as it just summoned a barrier of nanotech around him, blocking all of the bullets.

"He's sensing us!" Yaz shouted.

Charlotte then jumped in and stabbed her knives into Nemesis back. It didn't react much as it just grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. Nemesis's eye shot to the right, and then it ducked. On cue, a rifle shot and a thin calling card flew past him. Valentina and Eva were on top of the cranes in the back. Nemesis turned around and the nanotech formed into two cannons on its arms.

"**Y**_o_u t_h_**i**n_k_ **t**_o__**o**_ _l_**o**-**o**-**o**-u_**d**_." It taunted.

It fired the shots, but Eva and Valentina quickly jumped out of the way. Eva stabbed her rapier into the side of the structure and gently landed on the ground. She leapt forward and pulled Charlotte back to safety before reengaging. Valentina shot a grapple onto another structure. But as she swung back, bits of rubble fell off and shifted a lever.

The turntable suddenly began to move. Oliver, still holding on to Kazu, saw the turntable moving. Oliver quickly scrambled up to the ledge he was holding on and hoisted up Kazu as well. Kazu got on just as the turntable just went past the ledge. Kazu then looked up to Nemesis, who had begun fighting Chase again.

"_Hey, kid._" He said. "_Get ready._"

Before Oliver could reply, Kazu grabbed the orange Holon and threw him up to the turntable. Kazu then jumped on to the turntable and began climbing up. Chase got a few kicks in before Nemesis tossed him aside again.

"He's reading us like a book!" He called.

Just then, Oliver shot out from below. He flipped forward and fired his cables at Nemesis. The cables attached onto Nemesis's spike appendages. Oliver landed on the ground and sent an electrical charge through the cables. Nemesis was stunned a bit, but he yanked on the cables, pulling Oliver towards him. It then clotheslined Oliver. Oliver tumbled but Cammie jumped in and caught him.

Kazu jumped up again for another round. He pumped his fists and charged at Nemesis. He swung a few punches, but Nemesis retaliated by just simply swiping him aside. It then gathered a cloud of nanotech and blinded Kazu. The nanotech blinded him enough for Nemesis to prod him to the edge of the turntable again.

"_Uh… a little help?_" He called out.

In the mindscape, Kazu was still worried about his predicament. He looked up and saw Cammie floating down towards him, with Oliver standing near him.

"The signal ain't working." Cammie said. "And if we keep fighting solo, he'll always knows what's next."

Oliver swooped up to Cammie and held her hand. A small light lit up in their hands, signaling a connection.

"We'll have to shake it up then." He smiled.

Cammie nodded and extended a hand to Kazu. At first, Kazu seemed a little hesitant, but he eventually conceded and floated toward them.

"_Oh, what the hell._" He sighed, extending his hand._ "I'll try anything at this point._"

Kazu grabbed Cammie's hand, signaling another connection. They noticed Chase was nearby, so they offered him to join, but he didn't seem to act. He was more hesitant than Kazu was. With no response from him, the three decided to fight Nemesis with just the three. Their eyes all sharpened as they began to fight back.

Kazu extended his sword and swiped across Nemesis lower body. Nemesis backed off in response. He grabbed his shotgun and fired it, knocking Nemesis back. Cammie first braced herself and then began to run towards the fight while Oliver slung his cables onto the nearby structures. He even grabbed Cammie and flung her towards Kazu and Nemesis. As she flew in the air, she fired her pistols as she came down on Nemesis. Kazu continued slashing his sword until he finally got some distance between it. Nemesis used this opportunity to close the gap by pouncing on him. But as he leapt, Kazu threw his sword up. Cammie planted her two feet on the sword and slammed it down, cutting one of Nemesis's arms off. Cammie quickly jumped off the sword, but Nemesis grabbed her leg. Then a cable shot out from the side. Cammie caught it yanked it forward. Oliver then shot forward and landed a very hard kick onto Nemesis's torso. Kazu gave him additional boost by firing his shotgun. As Oliver flipped back, Cammie attached the cable to Nemesis's torso, allowing Oliver to land a clean kick. The cable also sent an electric pulse through, cooking its torso armor. The three Holon stepped back as Nemesis's nanotech began to regenerate its armor.

"_Alright, maybe mindshare isn't so bad._" Kazu admitted, tossing the arm aside.

"Yeah, but we're burning through uptime!" Cammie reminded.

Nemesis's nanotech finished making up two more arms, and then it formed a giant sword. It approached before a grenade exploded on his back. Eero had his grenade launcher up, its barrel smoking. Kazu, Oliver and Cammie used this chance to attack, but Nemesis just shoved Kazu aside, slammed Cammie into the ground and flung Oliver away. Nemesis, putting the sword away, summoned small cannons from its back and began firing at Eero.

Eero, in response, withdrew his grenade launcher and brought up his Barrier Shield to block the shots. Valentina appeared behind Eero and began firing her rifle. Nemesis summoned the sword again and charged. Charlotte then jumped in from nowhere and locked her arms on one of its legs. Then, Eva slid in and stabbed its arm.

"Should we work together?" Valentina asked, her cloak withdrawing.

"Very well." Eero remarked.

In the mindscape, Eero and Val were about to link up, but they saw something as they did. They saw that Eva and Charlotte were already linked up, helping each other take down Nemesis. The two girls looked at the two male figures. They each extended out a hand to them.

"You two want in on this?" Charlotte asked.

"Nothing weird, I promise." Eva added cheekily.

Eero and Val looked at each other for a bit and then joined hands with the two ladies. Once they were ready, their Holons reacted instantly.

Charlotte quickly released Nemesis before getting on her feet. She extended put her knives again and stabbed the leg. Eva swung around the arm and scissor-locked Nemesis, pinning him down to the ground. Eero, retracting his Barrier Shield, ran forward with Valentina flanking him. Eero swung his fist back and came down hard, but Nemesis dodged it. It got up, throwing Eva aside, but Valentina intercepted it with a slash from her own sword. Nemesis swung his spike-arms at her, but Charlotte grabbed hold of them and flung Nemesis over her head. It slid on the turntable for a bit before slamming the ground and getting back up. It was met with a grenade, a sniper shot, and two explosive bullet rounds.

"So far, so good…" Eva muttered.

"We just have to keep doing what we are doing right now!" Valentina said.

Nemesis used its nanotech to repair all of its damages and summon another sword. It walked towards them but then a laser shot into its back. Yaz was shooting lasers from her eyes. She quickly stopped for a bit to recharge.

"Burn in hell!" She shouted as she fired another laser.

The laser only bounced off Nemesis this time though. Nemesis's other arms shot out clouds of nanotech to push back the other four Holons. Yaz landed back on the turntable and fired her SMG. Nemesis got on all of his appendages and scrambled all over the turntable before getting up to Yaz. Before it could get her though, Hyun-Woo flew in from the side to land a kick right on the side of its head. Nemesis rolled a bit away as Hyun-Woo turned to Yaz.

"**Are you alright?**" He asked.

"Look out!" Yaz called.

Nemesis quickly jabbed its sword forward, prompting the two to jump over it and slide away from it. They gained a bit of distance between themselves.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Yaz asked.

"**I will be in a moment.**" Hyun-Woo replied, unsheathing his swords.

In the mindscape, the two held hands before Hyun-Woo spun Yaz into his embrace. The two joined each other as they linked up.

Nemesis swung his sword to the side, but the two Holons dodged it. Hyun-Woo slashed Nemesis's side, and then slashed up its back and then slammed his swords down, cutting its spike appendages. Yaz then swooped in, shooting her SMGs. Hyun-Woo, slashing one more time, tossed his sword to Yaz, who caught it and blocked a sword strike from it. She then fired another laser beam towards Nemesis, pushing it back. Yaz back off, tossing Hyun-Woo's sword back to him. Hyun-Woo danced with his sword all over Nemesis, cutting him up. Finally, Chase flew in and kicked him away.

All of the Holons recovered and stood up to face Nemesis. They were actually satisfied with the current outlook of the battle.

"We're actually pushing him back!" Oliver cheered.

In the mindscape, all ten gen:LOCK members near with each other. Strangely, Chase was in the middle, the others surrounding him.

"It's working." Cammie said. "If we all merge, fighting ten as one, we could do it!"

Chase looked concerned as he looked at his teammates. He was still hesitant about merging with them.

"Chase…" Yaz said.

"I know." Chase replied. "I just…"

"It's time to let go." Yaz said again.

"I know!" Chase said sharply, pointing to his head for a bit. "Look, this. My mind. It's all I got left. Everything else is gone. You let someone else in, become one with them… when you merge… what do I become?"

"Maybe… you become a new you?" Val asked. "Over a lifetime, yes, you are supposed to change."

"_Believe in us, brother._" Kazu added.

"You can't keep hanging on to the past." Eero said. "You have to let it go."

Yaz floated up to Chase, cupping his head with her hands.

"You can't stay closed off. That's not living." She said calmly. "Changing, evolving, letting in something, someone new… that's staying alive."

Chase thought on those words for a bit. After a deep sigh, he nodded.

"Alright." He said. "I'm ready."

Yaz lifted her hands to link up, but then the mindscape began to pulse a red light. There was even a danger sign appearing above them.

"Wait, what's going on?" Eero asked.

"Oh, crikey…" Charlotte muttered.

"We're going to exceed uptime!" Cammie shouted. "All the mods and merging…!"

"We have to download. Now!" Valentina said. "We have to get back to our bodies!"

"Why now, of all times…?" Eva muttered.

"No… no…! Not when we're so close!" Yaz protested. "We don't have time!"

Chase paused for a moment, and then thought of an idea.

"Yeah, you do." He said. "You're gonna get the time you need to reset. You can bet on it."

Yaz turned back to Chase, confused by what he said. Then, she realized it.

"Chase, no!" She said.

"No, we finally drove him into a corner." Chase explained. "If we let up now, he'll run away, upgrade, and this whole game will start all over again. We have to stop him now."

"No!" Yaz protested. "Not like this."

"Yaz, listen to me." Chase said.

"Not like this!" Yaz said again. "Are you out of your mind? Why do you always rush to sacrifice yourself? We do this as a team!"

"I am doing this for the team. This is what I can do. This!" Chase said. "If I can stall him long enough for you all to reset, we can crack him."

"You will lose your body!" Yaz stated.

"Yaz… I lost that four years ago." Chase replied in a dismissive voice. "This is me now. You said it yourself, right? I gotta let go. And change."

"This… this is not what I meant!" Yaz said.

"Time's wasting, guys." Chase said again. "Get back as soon as you can. I got a plan, but I'm gonna need you guys. All of you."

With that said, Chase floated away, leaving the other members of gen:LOCK behind with each other.

"So… what now?" Oliver asked.

"**We scatter.**" Hyun-Woo said. "**Temporarily retreat, then download.**"

"_Y_-_y_-_y_o**u** f**o**_r_-_r_-_r_**g**-e-e_**t**_…" A distorted voice chimed in.

All of gen:LOCK members looked up to see another Chase coming into form. In contrast to him though, he was dressed in a black and red gen:LOCK suit, with a crack across his right eye. It took a bit to realize, but they figured that this was Nemesis.

"_I_ **c**a_n_ **h**_e_a_**r**_ y_o_**u** a_ll_…" He said.

"Go!" Chase shouted.

On that cue, all of the gen:LOCK members scattered away. Their Holons followed suit with these actions, taking off in separate directions. As they left, Chase braced himself as Nemesis charged forward, tackling him into an engine shed. Yaz saw this, stopping to watch.

"Yaz!" Charlotte's voice echoed. "C'mon! We have to download!"

Yaz acknowledged this, and just continued flying away. She quickly found a place for her Holon to be safe in. Oddly enough, she found Hyun-Woo at her place.

"**Figured we downloaded in pairs, to be safe.**" Hyun-Woo said.

Yaz nodded, and then two Holons got down on one knee. They closed their eyes, and then downloaded into their bodies.

Yaz and Hyun-Woo woke up in the Hornbill and stood up from their pods. They saw Charlotte, Yaz, and Caliban working away at the consoles and screens. They also found the other members resting beside them.

"How are we doing?" Yaz asked.

"Well, we had to wait for you two to finish downloading." Charlotte explained. "We'll work as fast as we can now."

Caliban, Cammie, and Charlotte then began working. They worked as fast as they can, but it took a long time to bypass the myriad of safety protocols Dr. Weller had in place. Charlotte continued working, but then she saw something that shocked her.

"Oh no…" She said.

Everyone turned to look at what she was looking at, which was Chase's vitals, as he was still uploaded to his Holon. But, two phrases on his vitals just lose all of their train of thought.

_Uptime Exceeded. Download Prohibited. _

They even saw Chase's tank turning off. They didn't know how to respond, but that only got Charlotte, Cammie and Caliban to work faster. Yaz quickly ducked away to the cockpit to look out to the rail yard from the distance. Hyun-Woo walked in to talk to her.

"**You okay?**" He asked.

Yaz shook her head before she turned back to Hyun-Woo.

"I'm fine." She sighed. "Just… worried."

"**Chase will be fine.**" Hyun-Woo assured. "**He's tough. He can handle himself.**"

Yaz looked out again for a bit. She sighed and returned with Hyun-Woo back to the main compartment, where they found the other members just waiting impatiently as the reset time was set up. Kazu was pacing back and forth to work of his anxiety.

"Cammie…! Charlotte…!" Valentina said.

"We're working as fast as we can!" Charlotte said.

"_Hurry!_" Kazu assisted.

"Ease up, Kazu!" Cammie shot back, still working. "The Doc had a bunch of safeties involved to avoid doing exactly this. You need a minimum reset time to-!"

Cammie was interrupted by a large thud. Everyone looked outside to see Nemesis walking towards them. Slowly, but menacingly. Yaz and Eero quickly acted fast. Eero got to one of the turrets and began firing. Yaz got to the consoles and fired a set of missiles. Nemesis ignored them as it just put up a barrier of nanotech to block the fire. It continued moving towards the parked Hornbill…

Suddenly, a storm of bullets shot out and hit it on its side. A missile even complimented this by knocking it down.

"Hey!" A voice called. "Over here!"

Nemesis and the gen:LOCK crew looked outside to find… the blue Holon. It was online. Beside him were two Vanguard Striders, piloted by Miranda and Jodie.

"_Sinclair?_" Kazu spluttered.

Nemesis got back up and began to charge at his new adversaries. The blue Holon dodged its attacks, even getting a few critical shots in.

"Cal, get us airborne!" Yaz requested as they saw the fight begin.

Nemesis's nanotech summoned two chain-like tentacles from its back and grabbed hold of the blue Holon. It threw the blue Holon into the building behind the Striders. Nemesis began to run towards the blue Holon. Just as it was about to impaled the Holon, Miranda parked her Strider in front of it and stopped it.

"Julian!" She shouted. "Stop! Why are you doing this?"

Nemesis stopped and tried to talk to her, but its senses were overrun as it screamed in pain as it grabbed hold of her Strider. But as it was about to attack, Chase flew in from the sky and tackled Nemesis into a small storage building. Nemesis threw Chase of it and Chase slid on the ground before the blue Holon caught him.

"Gotta say Chase." The blue Holon said. "The other you is kind of a giant asshole."

Chase looked up at the blue Holon. His voice sounded… familiar.

"Wait, Leon?" He asked. "How are you-?"

"Sinclair's Holon." Leon replied, raising his rifle again. "I'll explain later! We got to end this fast! I only have so much uptime!"

"Wait…" Chase muttered. "I don't need uptime. I can mod anything!"

Chase quickly augmented every one of his stats as Nemesis climbed back onto its feet. He darted forward and punched him away, Nemesis flopping around as a result. Nemesis then saw the gen:LOCK Hornbill flying away. It looked at it and activated its boosters, flying after it. It grabbed hold of one of the wings and held on. Chase, Leon, and the Striders began to rain fire on Nemesis. All of the bullet fire made Nemesis lose his grip and fell back to the ground with a loud thud.

Nemesis got back on its feet and growled at Chase. It summoned four balls of nanotech before they seeped into the ground. Then the nanotech shot upward and spikes shot at them at great speed. One of the spikes landed a clean hit on Chase, throwing him back a bit and sliding on the ground.

Chase shook it off as he slowly got back up. Just then Yaz flew down and helped Chase on his feet again. Following her, one by one, were the other Holons running up beside them. They stopped just behind Chase.

Back in the mindscape, the other members of gen:LOCK found Chase. They had a solemn atmosphere as they gathered around Chase.

"Chase…" Yaz started. "We're sorry."

Chase looked at Yaz before turning to everyone else.

"Don't apologize." Chase smiled. "This is the new me, remember?"

"But… just an FYI." He continued. "If my mind can't leave my Holon, I could turn into… that. I don't know if you want that in your heads."

Everyone turned to see Nemesis, buzzing in and out of its avatar.

"Yeah, maybe." Oliver said. "But there's a clear difference between you and whatever he is."

"He was alone, cut off, corrupted." Cammie added.

"And knowing the Union, probably tortured." Val said.

"_You got us._" Kazu smiled.

"We'll make sure you stay sane." Charlotte chuckled.

"Whatever you do, we'll be there." Eero added, pumping his fists.

"Be something new with us, and we will make sure you don't become that." Yaz assured.

As they started, Eva held Oliver's hand, who in turn grabbed Cammie's. One by one, all of gen:LOCK held hands until Chase was the only one left. Chase took Hyun-Woo and Yaz's hands. This initiated the mindshare between all ten gen:LOCK members.

All of the Holons braced themselves as Nemesis roared again. Four pillars of nanotech shot up, protecting it. All of the Holons braced their weapons and all charged at Nemesis.

"_**You have something we need.**_" Gen:LOCK said, their voices as one.

The mindscape avatars all flew towards Nemesis's avatar. They floated around them with their arms towards it.

Back in the real world, all of the Holons charged at the nanotech pillars. Kazu smashed through one, while Valentina swung around another. More pillars shot up from the ground as the two Holons charged at it. A pillar from the back sprang up, but Charlotte just punched through it and pounced onto Nemesis's back. Nemesis responded by sending its tentacle limbs at him, but Kazu was able to cut it off. He even added by slicing one of its arms off. Hyun-Woo then jumped in and slashed its legs once more. Then, all four Holons braced themselves as they all slashed Nemesis right across the sides of its torso.

More nanotech pillars shot up from the ground, obstructing the space for gen:LOCK to work with. Oliver and Cammie were skating and spinning around as the pillars shot up. Oliver was able to get on top of a building. He shot a cable to Cammie. She caught it, and Oliver was able to flung her up into the air. Once she was up, Cammie launched her drones, which began to fire on Nemesis.

Nemesis tried to swat the drones away, but a tile stuck onto its shoulder, exploding a vapor of liquid nitrogen. The shoulder and upper arms of Nemesis froze as Eva swung in from above and landed a quick rapier jab on its neck. Nemesis stumbled a bit before getting pelted with a storm of bullets. It turned to see Eero shooting it with the minigun. Nemesis covered itself as Yaz and Chase swooped in and out, landing and punching Nemesis.

Now, it was time for them to subdue it. Valentina shot her grapple, locking one of Nemesis's arms. Kazu stabbed Nemesis's legs, holding him in place. Oliver latched both cables onto Nemesis's torso and pulled him back with an electrical charge. Charlotte pounced on Nemesis and stabbed into its back one more time. Eva threw three explosive calling cards at Nemesis as Yaz fired another set of lasers at it. Hyun-Woo swung down and slashed Nemesis's right arms off. Cammie launched her explosive disks at Nemesis as Eero fired a grenade at him. Chase finished it off by firing his flurry of missiles.

In the mindscape, all of the gen:LOCK avatars were holding down Nemesis, allowing Chase to get a piece of his memories. He searched for a bit before finding the piece containing the nanotech.

"Cammie!" He called. "Shut down the nano!"

Cammie received the memory and began to work on it. She tweaked and rewrote it and send it up to her drones.

Back in real life, Nemesis got on all fours and gathered all of its nanotech into a large spiky pillar. Cammie's drones were emitting the slowly receiving signal from Cammie. Nemesis shot his arm forward, launching the nanotech at the Holons. Eero put up his Barrier Shield as some of them brace themselves for the impact.

But then, the nanotech stopped moving. Then, with a breeze of wind, the nanobots faded away into nothing. Nemesis also looked at its nanobots disappearing before his eyes. It also watched all of but one of its arms fade away. Nemesis clenched a fist with one remaining arm he had before he was assaulted.

Kazu slashed his sword, cutting Nemesis's remaining hand. He then ducked, allowing Cammie and Oliver to jump over him. Oliver, releasing his cables, flung his electricity-crackling cables like a whip, knocking Nemesis back. Cammie, launched more explosives onto Nemesis, all of them exploding as Cammie landed back on the ground. The resulting explosion launched Nemesis away from them, allowing Charlotte and Eero to clothesline Nemesis. Eva rolled and fired her pistol, getting Nemesis back on its feet. Hyun-Woo flew down from above and slashed Nemesis's torso, opening up his Cyber-Brain. He quickly ducked as Yaz shot forward and sent Nemesis into the air. Once it was high enough, Yaz fired a spread of lasers from her wrists and her eyes, in addition to a sniper shot from Valentina. Those shots sent Nemesis even higher in the air. Chase flew around Nemesis at his top speed before grabbing hold of him and flying up into the sky. Then, he dropped Nemesis.

Nemesis hit the ground with a loud crash. A crater was now with it, Nemesis unmoving. Chase landed back down and steadily walked forward to it. Hyun-Woo flipped one of his swords and handed it to Chase. Chase, now standing over Nemesis, stood over it with the tip of the sword touching Nemesis's torso. After a few tense moments of silence, Chase yelled as he impaled the Cyber-Brain of Nemesis, killing the evil Holon.

Several hours have passed. The remaining Union forces have either retreated or captured. Vanguard patrols were now sweeping the city to clean up any Union stragglers. The Holons were standing by a couple of Hornbills, with nine of the Holons downloaded and stored into ESU Holons. Leon and Chase were the only ones left.

"Uploading… it wasn't pleasant." Leon admitted, his eyes scowling. "I can only imagine what downloading's gonna feel like."

"Well, either we take a shot at this… or you're stuck like me." Chase replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

Leon looked at Chase before looking back at his pod inside the Holon. He sighed loudly.

"Nope. But no point in delaying the inevitable." He said.

He got down one knee as Cammie, Caliban, Migas, and Charlotte walked into the Hornbill that contained his pod. Miranda, Jodie, and Chase in his mix image came in with them. Leon gave the crew a thumbs up and then he closed his eyes. Everyone began to press keys and buttons on the screen as Leon downloaded. The pod turned off, but Leon didn't wake up.

"Well, he's alive." Migas sighed.

"Why isn't he waking up then?" Jodie asked.

"Give us a sec." Cammie said. "Charlotte, you're up."

Charlotte walked over to Leon's pod to get a scan of his vitals. Her eyes went wide as she took the scan in.

"Leon…" She muttered.

"What is it?" Miranda asked. "What's going on?"

"He sustained a lot of damage." Charlotte explained. "Parietal, hippocampus, frontal… you name it. He's in a coma. One… he might not wake from. At least for a while."

Miranda, Chase, and Jodie looked at Leon comatose body in the pod. Colonel Marin mixed in just outside to talk to the gen:LOCk recruits.

"He hoped he could help." She said. "Now we hold out hope for him. He sacrificed. Many have."

All of gen:LOCK stepped out of the Holon to meet the Colonel outside.

"There has been such terrible cost, but for the first time since this war began, we stopped them." She continued. "This is the day we turn the war around. From here, we don't merely hold the line. We will take back what was lost."

"gen:LOCK team, I'd like to discuss your return to the Anvil." She finished. "We couldn't have won this battle without you. I think there's a great deal more we can do together."

All of gen:LOCK looked at each other for a bit. This was a bit much to take in, after everything they went through.

"I think we're going to need a minute to talk about for a minute, ma'am." Chase said.

"Very well." Colonel Marin replied, pixelating away to let the gen:LOCK team talk.

As gen:LOCK talked, Chase moved away to briefly talk with Miranda. As the two talked, everyone else came to a unanimous decision. Before they were going to tell the Colonel, Yaz went up to preset the coordinates on the ESU Hornbill. Once she was done, she came back down. Hyun-Woo saw her come back, and the two exchanged a brief glance as Chase returned to speak to Colonel Marin, accompanied by Dr. Jha and Migas. They told the two of them about their decision.

"That's a pretty steep ask." Colonel Marin admitted.

"We know, ma'am." Chase chuckled. "But it makes sense to us, Plus, it keeps a strong connection between us and the Vanguard, even if we're not stationed at the Anvil."

"I like that part, but I don't know about losing our top technician." Colonel Marin chuckled.

Everyone looked at Migas, who didn't really have a response on hand.

"Uh…" He chuckled. "Let's go with… engineering liaison. How does that sound?"

Everyone had a good chuckle from that. With that said though, Oliver quickly had Leon's Holon loaded up onto their ESU Holon. Caliban had also transferred Leon's pod and all associated computers on board as well.

"We'll admit Leon to our neural medical facility." Dr. Jha assured. "They've got the best shot at assessing his condition. I promise, we'll provide the best possible care."

"Take care of yourselves." Colonel Marin smiled.

"Don't worry." Chase smiled. "You'll see us again."

And with that, both mix images of Colonel Marin and Dr. Jha dissipated, followed by Chase. Chase's Holon reactivated and prepared for takeoff before quickly throwing a quick gesture at Miranda, who was on her way to board a Hornbill containing the Striders.

Finally, all of the aircraft began to take off. The gen:LOCK Hornbill flew off after Chase, who had taken off much quickly than the others, and Vanguard Hornbill flew in the opposite direction.

_-New York, Union Territory-_

Meanwhile, in a darkly lit room, footage of Nemesis's defeat played. Everything from the beginning of its engagement with gen:LOCK and to its defeat. In front of the footage, sat a man. He had his hands clasped together and seemed to be paying a lot of attention into the footage.

"So…" He muttered quietly and gently. "Project: Nemesis was defeated…"

The footage cut when Chase stabbed Nemesis, the footage freezing on Chase's Holon's face. The man took a particular interest in him.

"So that's what's become of him…" He muttered again. "At least the field test was fruitful."

Just then, the doors behind the man swung open, with a Union trooper stepping in. He seemed uneasy.

"Dr. Gera!" He said. "A patrol has reported a trooper missing! We have search parties out now!"

Dr. Gera sighed, but didn't turn around. He adjusted his watch a bit as he spoke to the trooper, but not turning around.

"Well, please take your time with it." He said. "We don't want to exhaust ourselves, do we?"

"Yes, sir!" The trooper nodded before running off.

Dr. Gera stood up and looked outside. The once proud city of New York was now dark, brooding, and decorated with Union propaganda. He saw the various patrols of Union forces.

"After all, we'll require his assistance…" He said quietly, but menacingly. "For Operation: Armada."


End file.
